Evolution of a Friendship
by boidwriter
Summary: This story takes place after Daniel quits Mode.  There are a few scenes before he meets up with Betty in London and the rest take place after.
1. Chapter 1

"What!" Betty almost dropped the package of animal crackers she was snacking on.

"I know, right." Amanda said into her computer.

Betty had made it a habit to turn on Skype in the evenings to see if she could connect to anybody back in New York. She was regularly on line with Justin and Hilda, and sometimes if she timed it right she caught Amanda and Mark.

"He just quit? Why would he do that? He's worked so hard for it." Betty was dumbstruck. Amanda had just informed her that Daniel had resigned as Editor-in-Chief of Mode.

"Why Daniel does half the things he does I'll never know." Amanda commented. "I thought maybe you could shed some light…you two are pretty tight…in that non-sexual way you have."

"We haven't really been very close lately." Betty replied. _Understatement of the century._ The fact that Daniel hadn't said good-bye had left a monumental chasm between the two – Betty hadn't email, texted or called him in over a month. She was worried that he hated her for leaving - and, truthfully, a little resentful that he was being so petty about the whole thing. Mrs. Meade had insinuated at her going away party that Daniel was having a hard time saying good-bye because he had feelings for Betty. After contemplating it ever so briefly for about half a minute, she had shrugged it off as the ranting of a delusional mother. Her relationship with Daniel just wasn't like that. No – she was convinced Daniel didn't say goodbye because he was angry.

"Marc says he's been like a train wreck at work for the past several weeks." Amanda continued the conversation. "Maybe he's having a nervous breakdown or…like…a mid-life crises or something."

Betty didn't want to talk about it anymore. She was feeling a little sick. If she had swallowed some pride and tried to contact him after she got to London, maybe he would have confided whatever was bothering him and she could have talked him down off the ledge.

"How are things with you and Tyler?" She changed the subject.

"Oh they're pretty good." Amanda replied with a smile. "We have to work out some of our own stuff…so for now we're taking it slow - which is no easy task for two people as hot as we are."

"That's…great." Betty wasn't sure what to say to that.

Amanda added sweetly "I really like him. And I'm pretty sure he's really into me too."

"I'm happy for you Amanda." Betty said sincerely.

"You know…" Amanda continued "I really wish I'd slept with Matt now. Because then when Tyler and I finally do do **it** I'd have had all three strikes of a Meade-Hartley hole-in-one…or whatever they call it in football.

"Good-bye Amanda." Betty shook her head cringing. "Say "hi" to Marc for me."

"Good-bye Betty. I really miss you…especially when one of the neighbours cooks up some smelly foreign food.

They disconnected.

Betty was still in a state of shock. Daniel had quit Mode. She needed to talk to him. She picked up her phone to dial his number, and then she stopped. What would she say? "Hey, I know we haven't spoken in over a month but…what the hell are you thinking?" No, that wouldn't exactly work. She put the phone back down.


	2. Chapter 2

Resigning as Editor-in-Chief of Mode was easier than Daniel had expected. He had anticipated all sorts of resistance from his mother when he announced to her that he was quitting. Instead she had listened calmly while he explained his reasoning: He wanted to venture out into the world and see what he could accomplish on his own – not as Bradford Meade's son. He'd never done anything like that in his life and he wanted to give it a try. Mode wasn't his brainchild…it was his father's. And if he never got a chance to prove his own merit he would always regret it.

"Ok darling." Claire had responded "If that is what you really want to do then I think you should do it."

"Really?" He had expected to have to use a lot more arguments. It never failed to surprise him how different his mother was from the way his father had been. "That means Wilhelmena would be solely in charge…" he needed to make sure his mother had understood all of the implications.

"She more than capable of running Mode." His mother had replied. "And as long as she keeps her she-devil claws away from the rest of Meade, then I'll work peaceably with her."

"Thanks mom." Daniel had felt extremely relieved.

"But what about you? I assume you've worked out a plan?"

"Yeah." Daniel hadn't been sure how his mother would respond to this next part. "I'm going to London."

Claire had raised her eyebrows and stifled a smile. "London…interesting choice."

"I need to talk to Betty." Daniel had figured he might as well be honest.

"They have phones in London, Daniel. It doesn't require uprooting your entire life and flying across the ocean to talk to her." His vague admission had amused his mother and she wasn't going to let him off that easy.

"You know what I mean, mom. I need to spend some time with her. Figure out what's going on in my head."

"Don't you mean: figure out what's going on in you heart, dear?" Claire had teased.

"Mom…" Daniel had warned. He hadn't been ready to admit to his mother that he was in love with Betty. He'd barely come to terms with it himself. _When had this change of feelings started anyway?_

After he'd had the conversation with his mother he'd gone to tell Wilhelmena. She had seemed surprised although, truthfully, it was hard to distinguish any expressions from Wilhelmena.

The next few weeks had flown by. The lawyers had drawn up all the necessary papers. The final edits to the 100th Anniversary Edition were complete and he had written his final letter from the editor. Most of it had been done in automatic. He hadn't really felt like he'd been at Mode for the past few weeks. His body had been there but his mind had been, literally, 3000 miles away.

They had kept Daniel's decision quiet from everyone, especially the media. There was no point getting everyone worked up into a frenzy until the deed was done. Daniel was going to finish up the editing of the 100th Anniversary issue, then immediately after, hand the reigns over to Wilhelmena. In fact, they had opted not to schedule the press conference about his resignation until his very last day.


	3. Chapter 3

"It seems the winds of change have swept through the Mode hallways and swept the Meade heir right out the door - leaving the goddess of fashion herself, Wilhelmena Slater, the sole Editor-in-Chief of Mode. Ms. Slater, now fully recovered from her self-inflicted gunshot wound, says she is completely up to the task of taking over the illustrious fashion magazine. Apparently her editing skills are much shaper than her aim."

Justin was watching television as he did his homework.

"Mom! Bobby!" he shriek "Get in here."

Suzuki St. Pierre continued. "Just what has happened to the heir to the Meade Empire? What scandal has caused such a sudden shift in the tides? Could he be caught up in another "community" or maybe he is undergoing too much stress? Or perhaps, more likely, our former playboy of fashion has gone back to his freewheeling, man-whore ways…"

Justin and Hilda looked at each other their mouths gaping.

"Oh my god! Do you think Aunt Betty knows?" Justin asked.

"I don't know. I don't think she's spoken to Daniel since she left. They didn't exactly leave on the best terms."

Justin dove for the phone. Hilda slapped his hand. "Nuh…uh. You think we're made of money or something? " She pointed over to the desk.

Justin walked over to the computer. There was always hope she'd be on Skype this time of night. Texting just wouldn't be the same, he wanted to hear her.

"Hi A.B." He was relieved to find her connected.

"Hey, Justin…It's great to hear from you."

"Hey Betty." Hilda came up beside Justin at the computer and sat down.

"Hi Hilda." Betty loved the way technology could relieve some of her homesickness. "What's up with you guys? Did you audition for that part in Grease yet, Justin?"

"No, not yet. They start auditions next Monday. But I've been totally getting ready…you wanna see the new move I choreographed for the tryouts?"

"Sure…" Betty started but Hilda interrupted.

"Not now Justin. Remember why we called?" Hilda's elbowed Justin in the ribs.

"Ow! Oh yeah. Aunt Betty, there's some crazy news about Mode…" He was about to continue but Betty stopped him.

"I heard…Daniel quit." Betty's tone was disheartened.

"What do you think it's all about?" Hilda asked.

"I don't know Hilda. It just seems so strange. He's worked so hard for the past four years and now he's throwing it all away. It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe you should call him…you know…find out if there's something going on."

"I want to Hilda. But Daniel and I haven't spoken in over a month. We're not exactly on the best of terms right now."

"I know." Hilda was sympathetic. "But maybe this could be a good excuse…to reconnect. You could tell him you heard the news and you're concerned about him."

"Maybe." Betty was skeptical. "To be honest, Hilda, I don't even think Daniel would answer a call from me. I think he's still pretty angry I didn't tell him about the job myself." The regret was evident in her tone.

"Well...he should get over it by now. I mean after all you've done for him. And he didn't even have the decency to say good-bye." Hilda could sense Betty was upset and she was starting to get protective.

Betty felt the need to defend Daniel. "Hilda, he's done a lot for me too. I should have given him a heads up about the job. You're right though" she wanted to appease Hilda a little. "he should have said good-bye."

"Yeah, he shoulda!"

"Maybe I could talk to Marc…see if he knows anything." Justin offered bringing them back to the present.

"Amanda says Marc is in the dark too." Betty replied. She decided to change the topic. "How's Papi?"

"He's great." Hilda replied. "He's thinking about going to California to visit Elena for a week."

"Really?" Betty picked up a bit. She'd been worried about Papi being in the house alone after Justin and Hilda moved out but he had actually surprised her. He started going out more, playing cards with friends, he was even talking about travelling. Maybe this would be his first trip.

They spoke for a few more minutes – about Bobby; about Hilda's new shop in the basement of their new house; about Betty's magazine. Then Betty decided it was getting pretty late and she needed to get some sleep.

"Do you want me to send you a copy of the 100th Anniversary Edition of Mode when it comes out?" Justin asked before they disconnected.

"Yeah. That'd be great, Justin." Betty was interested to know how all the editor profiles turned out. She'd worked on Daniel's – one of the last things she'd done for Mode. Maybe he was so angry with her that he didn't print it. She pushed the last thought out of her mind.

After she turned off her computer Betty thought for the second time that night about giving Daniel a call, then changed her mind. Was this how it was going to be? Was their friendship now over completely? She really wasn't sure how to mend whatever distance was now between them. She went to bed dejected.


	4. Chapter 4

Betty woke up feeling much better than she had the evening before. _It's amazing what a good night sleep can do. _Today was a brand new day and she, Betty Suarez, had a magazine to run. She was going to push all thoughts of Daniel out of her mind. She'd spent far too many hours in the past four years worrying about Daniel Meade; saving him from Wilhelmena's schemes, from stalking crazy girlfriends, from ambitious models and their conniving mothers; rescuing him from his own insecurities and self loathing and the clutches of a cult.

Besides, she had a full day ahead of her. She had to finish crunching some numbers so she could complete the rough draft of her budget for Lindsey. She had a meeting with a potential advertiser later this morning – she had to gather her thoughts together before it. And she had to lead a pitch meeting with her junior editors this afternoon.

She grabbed a coffee at the local coffee shop on the same street as her apartment.

"Hi Naveen. I'll have a latte with low fat milk and one sugar."

"Sure Betty. How's that magazine of yours coming?" Naveen asked politely.

"It's going great! Lots of work but it'll totally be worth it." Betty responded. She was in a total upswing this morning. "Thanks." she said as Naveen handed her the coffee.

The tube ride to work was crowded as usual but as she settled behind her desk she reflected on how she preferred it to the overcrowded often stressful ride on the subway in New York.

Betty's first task was to finalize a presentation she'd been working on. She had done a ton of research in the past week on the sales demographics of the potential advertisers she would be meeting with today – the exact demographics as the target audience of the new magazine. It should be a relatively easy sell as long as she could convince them of the professionalism of the magazine – her presentation had to look polished.

As she took one last look at her presentation, she thought of how far she'd come in the past four years. Today's presentation was so professional, nothing like the thing she and Daniel had thrown together at the last minute to present to Fabia Cosmetics so Daniel didn't loose his job. _Daniel _– the regret started resurfacing. She scolded herself for letting him interrupt her thoughts again. _There is no time for that, Suarez._ She grabbed her coat, packed up her laptop and headed out the door.

"Susan…I've got a meeting. I'll be back around 11:30." She instructed the receptionist.

Betty's meeting went extremely well. The advertisers had agreed to purchase spreads in the first six issues with potential to increase to twelve if they saw sales increases. She was in an exceptionally good mood.

She got back to the office and did some number crunching on her budget for an hour. _Number crunching is not exactly my forte. _ She thought to herself as she deleted the bottom number for the third time. _Speaking of "crunching"…_she realized she was getting hungry. Betty wandered around the office to see if anyone looked like they might be ready to grab something to eat. No luck…everyone was engrossed in what they were doing. As much as she hated going to eat by herself she decided she was too hungry to wait around. There would be other days to get know her coworkers a little better.

A couple of weeks ago she'd discovered a small Thai place on the other side of Trafalgar Square that served the best pad Thai. She grabbed her bag and headed out.

After picking up some pad Thai, she headed over to a park bench and pulled out her phone. Christina, who was now an up and coming new British designer, worked on the other side of London. Although it was a little far to meet for lunch, they could catch up by phone while they each took a break.

"Hello Christina?"

"Hey Betty." Christina replied. "How's the new Editor-in-Chief doing?"

"Fabulous!" Betty answered enthusiastically. "I just closed an awesome deal with some advertisers this morning."

"Well, now, isn't it just like you, to sweep into the country and charm the money out of some poor sap's pockets?" Christina teased.

"Yep. And I've hooked them for half a year…potentially the full year."

"Good for you, Betty!"

"What's up with you Christina?"

"Oh, you know, just gadding about, stitching this and that. It seems Kate Beckensale is quite taken by the fashions of a new designer by the name of Christina McKinney . She's commissioned me to make her a dress for the red carpet premier of her new movie!" The last part of Christina's statement rose by a couple decibels.

Betty screamed into her phone and the people around her turned to look. Slightly quieter she added "Shut up! I love her. She was sooo great in the movie "On Evil Wings". "

"Speaking of **evil**…" Christina changed the topic. "Word around here is that the spawn of Satan herself has taken over Mode."

"Yeah. It's weird. I can't believe Daniel stepped down."

"So you don't know what's going on with him?" Christina asked.

"No. Daniel and I haven't really spoken in quite a while." Betty said.

"You and the boy wonder lost touch, eh? Did the cell lines jam when hell froze over?"

"Funny." Betty then proceeded to fill Christina in on all the details of how Daniel had found out about her job in London and how he wouldn't say good-bye.

"So that's it then? You're never going to speak to each other again?"

"I don't know. Could we talk about something else please?" This topic was starting to bring Betty down from what had been a previously good mood. "What kind of design did you have in mind for Kate Beckensale's new dress?"

So they changed the topic of conversation back to something more upbeat. While they were chatting Betty finished her lunch and started walking back across the square toward the office. She was so engrossed in her conversation that she didn't even notice someone standing in her path. Before she knew it she'd walked right into him.

"Oh…sorry!" she took a few steps back to regain her balance. "Daniel!" She was shocked to see him. "What are you doing here? Oh…just a minute…Hello…" She turned her focus back to the call for a minute. "I'll have to call you back."

"Hi Betty." Daniel seemed a little apprehensive. "How are you?"

"I'm good…really good. What are you doing here?" She asked again. It was like she couldn't make sense of Daniel in London – as if the pieces didn't fit.

"I quit Mode. I wanted to tell you personally. You know…because of everything we went through together with Wilhelmena…and everything." The conversation seemed a little awkward. "Do you have a minute?"

"Uh…sure…I guess. I mean I have to get back to the office soon but sure." She smiled slightly.

They took a seat on the steps and Daniel explained how he handed the reigns completely over to Wilhelmena; how he'd decided he needed something new; and how his mother was happy with his decision.

"I know." She said. And then she clarified "Well not about your mother or that you wanted something different. But I knew you quit Mode."

"You knew? How?"

"I'm across the ocean Daniel, not under a rock." She smirked. "I haven't lost touch with **everyone** you know." She sensed he caught her meaning by his pained expression. She changed her tone to a slightly less acidic one and continued. "So…was that hard for you?"

"Not really. Well… it's just… I realized I've had everything handed to me. I've never really gotten anything on my own like… like you." She couldn't believe it. He quit because he wanted to prove himself - to earn something of his own merit. She was so proud of him. Yet, she didn't feel she could say it. There was something hanging in the air between them making the conversation awkward - _A month of silence and growing resentment perhaps._ Whatever it was Betty couldn't help but notice that the conversation seemed much more like that of acquaintances than two old friends.

"Well I know there's a lot you can do Daniel." She said sincerely.

"Thank you." Daniel paused for a moment. "And I also realized I didn't say good-bye. Which is… uh…really not cool." He paused again. "So… good-bye. And good-luck." Betty smiled. "And have a safe flight." His joke broke a little of the tension.

"Thank You. I'll call you when I get there." She added to his joke laughing a little. It was so strange for him to be here. Did he come all this way just to tell her he had quit? It was really great to see him but seeing him made her realize how much she'd missed him over the past month. All of a sudden she knew she wanted him to stay around for a little while.

She needed to know when he was going back. "So… that's it? You're headed back to New York?"

"No. I think I'm gonna… stay around here for a while. See what I can find. Maybe… take you to dinner. Tonight… if you're free."

Betty felt a wave of relief. He was going to stay in London for a while, and he wanted to go out for dinner tonight. Everything was going to be alright between them. It seemed a little awkward right now but maybe they just needed to talk some things through. And with him staying around for a while they would be able to – they could even start tonight.

"I would love that." She replied giving Daniel a big grin. He smiled back and then he gave her a look that was unfamiliar – she couldn't quite read it.

Just then the clock chimed and Betty realized she needed to get back to her pitch meeting.

"Well I'd better get back to work." Betty jumped up. "I'm really glad you're here." She said sincerely, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'll call you later." He responded.

"Great." She replied pertly. She started down the stairs, stopped and turned around briefly. "You know… if you're looking for something to do I _am___looking for a new assistant." She teased.

"Well maybe I'll submit my resume." Daniel retorted and they both chuckled at the thought of the role reversal.

Betty seemed to float down the stairs. Everything was surreal. Daniel was in London. _Weird._ Did she really just see him? She physically had to turn around and check. He was still standing there. _Yep, he's here alright. What is he doing here?_ He had said he wanted to tell her in person that he had quit Mode. And now he wanted to start over - find his own way. Whatever the reason he was here, obviously she meant enough to him for him to come and try to fix the distance that had been growing between them and that was enough for Betty.

She was almost to her office when she remembered how rudely she'd hung up on Christina. She got out her phone.

"Christina?"

"Right then - what happened? You pushed me off the phone so fast I thought Jude Law had gotten up in your craw or something."

"Christina!" Betty laughed. Then she added "It was Daniel."

"What was Daniel?" Christina was confused.

"The person I ran into was Daniel."

"Daniel Meade? He's here in London? Well…what's he doing here?"

"I'm not sure. Well…I mean he said he wanted to find his own way…you know? He also said he wanted to tell me that he had quit in person. I think he wants to make amends though."

"What makes you say that? Did he apologize for not saying good-bye?"

"No…well not exactly. But he did ask me to dinner tonight." Betty was feeling a little anxious about it.

"Right. Well…you'll find out more tonight then."

"Yeah. I guess so. I gotta get back to work. I'll talk to you later." Betty hung up her phone and walked into her office completely unsure what the rest of the day had in store.


	5. Chapter 5

They had arranged to meet up at a restaurant not far from Betty's work. Daniel had wanted to pick her up but Betty had insisted that it didn't make any sense as his hotel was only a short walk from the restaurant. She took the tube home to change then caught a cab back to meet up with Daniel.

When the maitre d' escorted her to the table, Daniel was already there. It was so good to see him - she couldn't help but smile. Daniel stood up and she gave him another quick hug before she sat down.

They settled into small talk about Betty's family and Daniel's flight. And though the conversation wasn't nearly as awkward as it had been earlier in the day, there was still something unspoken hanging in the air.

"That was odd how I just ran into you today...huh…I mean, what are the odds?" Betty commented after taking a bite of her chicken.

"It wasn't completely an accident." Daniel admitted. "I'd called your office and they said you'd gone out for lunch. I knew you worked nearby and so I thought - even though it was a long shot - I'd try to find you."

"You were looking for me?" Betty seemed surprised.

"Of course I was. That's one of the main reasons I'm here."

"Oh." Betty was trying to process it. "To tell me you quit Mode…or to tell me you were starting over?"

"Both. They're kind of a package deal. And…" he paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "to make up for being such an idiot before you left New York."

"Oh yeah…that." Betty looked down at her plate and pushed her food around.

"Betty…I'm really sorry I was such a jerk. I should never have shut you out like I did."

"Yeah…well…I didn't handle the situation very well myself. I should have been the one to tell you I'd taken the job."

"So can we get past this then?" Daniel seemed eager to try.

"Yeah. But…just one more thing…" Betty needed to know "why didn't you try to call, or email, or text me? I mean it's been over a month."

"I don't know. At times I would tell myself you were probably so angry you wouldn't want to hear from me. Then at other times I would convince myself you probably didn't really care…I mean…you'd moved on to a new job, why did you need to hear from your old boss?

Betty looked up at him with a puzzled look in her eyes. She was taken aback that he wouldn't know this. "Daniel, you were **never** just my boss."

He smiled at her. Then he got that look on his face again. It unnerved her – made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She hated that she couldn't figure out what it meant.

The rest of the dinner they were back to their old ways of teasing and laughing and sharing everything they could think of. The weight of over a month of distance between them was gone. They spoke of Betty's new job. She told him about the challenges she was facing with limited budget and trying to score potential advertisers. She told him of today's victory and how great she felt about it. She got that sparkle in her eyes as she spoke of the ideas she'd had for items for the upcoming months.

She decided to change the subject back to him. "So what are you going to do now…here in London, I mean."

"Hey, you'd be proud of me" he grinned. "After I decided to leave Mode I figured I better come up with a game plan. So I did some soul searching to figure out what I'm interested in. I analyzed the past few years at Mode to decide which parts of my job I enjoyed the most. I even did an online assessment of my interests and skills." He was so fired up Betty couldn't help but grin back.

"I **am** proud of you. So what came from all of this introspection?"

"I've decided to get into…advertising." He looked at her expectantly.

"Advertising…" she paused, reflecting on the idea. "Yeah… I can see that. You always were the most excited when you were pitching layouts to Fabia and other advertisers in the magazine. And you hated writing. Even the letter from the editor was always a little painful for you."

"How did you know that?" Daniel was shocked at her insight.

"Come on Daniel…I think we've already determined we know each other pretty well by now. You're very creative. I'm sure you'll do great! Of course you will have to work on those research skills of yours because you won't have a clever, witty assistant to help you out…at least at first." She teased.

He explained how he was going to start with whatever position could get him in the field and then he would prove himself over time. He had already done some research on some of the bigger advertising agencies in London. And he'd spoken to some connections like his old friend Becks who was a photographer and had done some work for some agencies in London before. It never hurt to have the name of someone you could speak with when you called up looking for a job.

After dinner Daniel suggested they take a short walk down to the Thames. It was a nice evening and they found themselves standing against the railing looking out over the river at the parliament buildings and Big Ben. It was beautiful.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Betty asked in a whisper.

"Yeah…it really is."

Daniel turned to Betty and took a step toward her. He was standing so close. He had that look on his face again. The tingles on her neck started. As the look lingered they spread down her spine. She took a small step back and found she was leaning against a concrete lamp post. She looked up into Daniel's eyes – he was looking deep into hers. His face got closer to hers and her cheeks flushed. Just as his lips were about to brush hers she dodge quickly to the side. With the resistance of Betty's lips now non-existent, he lost his balance and dove forehead first into the lamp post.

"Owww." His hand went up to his head.

"Daniel are you ok?" Betty grabbed a tissue out of her bag and held it up to his forehead. There wasn't any blood, just a bump.

"Jeez, Betty…what the hell?" Daniel was confused.

"I suppose I could ask you the same thing!" She was flustered and a little aggravated by whatever had just transpired between them. "I'm standing there, everything's great, and the next thing I know you're coming toward me with your lips all hanging out."

"Most women don't consider it quite as repulsive as you apparently do."

"It's not repulsive…just unexpected." Betty looked at him with concern. What on earth would possess him to make a move on her like that? Maybe Amanda was right – maybe he was he having some kind of breakdown? "What's going on Daniel? Are you feeling ok?"

Whatever desire Daniel might have had to profess his feelings to Betty had fizzled as quickly as the mood when she'd lunged for cover.

"Nothing's going on."

"Come on Daniel. It's me. I can tell when you're not acting like yourself…and that was most definitely not like you."

"Let's just drop it ok?" He said more firmly than he intended. Daniel didn't know how much more of this he could take. His ego was a pile of rubble at the edge of the Thames and now Betty was accusing him of loosing his mind. She was bright and perceptive – how could she miss all the signs he was sending her.

"O…K…" Betty was cautious. Daniel was obviously very edgy and she didn't want to push him. "Maybe I should go home. It's getting kind of late."

They rode in silence back to Betty's flat. Daniel had insisted on escorting her home even though he didn't speak a word to her the entire way. He didn't seem angry really…just upset. And she did not want to say anything that might upset him more.

The cab arrived at her building. Betty squeezed Daniel's hand and said good-night. He managed a feeble smile back. As she got ready for bed she wondered if, after tonight, their relationship was in a better place than it had been last night or not. She sighed as she put her head on the pillow.


	6. Chapter 6

Betty dreamed about the encounter on the bridge. But in her dream she didn't leap for safety. She let Daniel press his lips into hers and wrap his arms around her, holding her tight. He kissed her cheek, then her jaw line and then his kisses made their way down to the side of her neck stopping where her blouse was resting. His hands caressed her arms and then slowly made their way to her top button. Then there was a buzzing noise – maybe a bee. Yes it was a bee. The largest, most hideous looking bee she'd ever seen. It was heading straight for her. It was just about to land on her face when she pulled away quickly and Daniel crashed to the ground…

Betty woke up…the same bee was buzzing. No…it wasn't a bee. It was her phone buzzing on the night stand. She grabbed her glasses and then picked up her phone.

_A.B._

_Skype._

_Now._

_J._

Justin was texting her and wanted her to get on Skype? That's weird. It must be only…she looked at the clock: 5:45am. Why was he waking her so early? It was 5:45 London time so in New York it was 12:45am. Why on earth was Justin on the computer that late at night? He had school in the morning.

For a brief moment she panicked that something was really wrong - perhaps with her father. But then she realized they would have called if it was truly an emergency. Whatever it was, it must have been too urgent to wait until it was a decent time in both places. Reluctantly she got up. She couldn't help but think how nice it would be to go back to that dream - without the bee. Then she shook her head. She didn't feel that way about Daniel – they were just friends. _Man, that attempted kiss really messed with my head._

She walked out to her computer and turned it on. As she was waiting for it to boot up she replied to the text:

J.

Booting up.

A.B.

After about the longest two minutes of her life Betty was connected with Justin. Hilda was there too. Bobby had gone to bed…he thought they were crazy.

"Hi A.B." said Justin "We waited up so we could talk to you."

"It's not even 6:00 in the morning yet. What is so important that it couldn't wait until later in the day? Shouldn't you guys be in bed?"

"I picked up a copy of the Mode 100th Anniversary Edition." Justin was clearly excited about something.

"Soooo?" Betty failed to see the relevance and why she had to be woken up for that.

"Well actually, I picked up a couple of copies and shipped one express to you the other day - before I took a look at it."

"To the point Justin." Betty knew there had to be more to it.

"Aunt Betty…you have to read the letter from the editor!"

"Why? What are you talking about?" This was all very confusing to Betty, particularly when she was only partially awake.

"Betty…" Hilda interjected "have you heard from Daniel?"

"Yeah…actually he's here. We went out for dinner last night. How did you…"

"Oh my Gosh!" Justin and Hilda looked at each other.

"Ok. What's going on?" Betty was starting to get annoyed.

"Should we read it?" Justin asked Hilda.

"I'm not sure…maybe we should just wait and let her read it herself…"

"Hey! Guys! I'm right here. Talk to me. Read me what?"

Justin proceeded to read Daniel's letter from the editor to Betty. In it Daniel had stated that he was stepping down and that fashion was much more suited to Wilhelmena – that she would make an excellent Editor-in-Chief. He spoke of the way things transform, even your feelings. He stated that sometimes you start to see people in a new light – like a good friend - maybe because they have undergone slight transformations of their own, or maybe because they are rising to new challenges that boost their confidence. Whatever the reason, sometimes you realize you need to make your own changes in order to keep that person in your life – even if it means undergoing your own new challenges both personally and professionally. He ended the letter with "love is one fashion that never goes out of style."

Justin finished reading and there was a pause.

"So? What do you think?" Hilda asked.

Betty was in a state of shock. He couldn't possibly be talking about her? Could he? That would explain the odd behaviour – the attempted kiss.

She tried to maintain her composure and find out just what Hilda and Justin were thinking. "What do I think of what?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Aunt Betty…he's so talking about you!" Justin was convinced.

"Why would you say that? It's very vague." Betty was trying to be objective.

"Vague…are you freaking kidding me! Betty the only way he could have been more obvious was if he actually named you. "Small transformations" - he's talking about your new look – new glasses, no braces; "rising to new challenges" – that is completely you - your junior editor job and now your job in London."

"Yeah…and he says he needs to make changes of his own in order to keep you in his life. And now he's there and you've already gone out for dinner." Justin added.

"Ok…maybe." Betty was becoming more and more convinced they were right. Maybe Mrs. Meade had been onto something after all. "He **was** acting a little strange last night."

"Oooo…strange how?" Hilda was up for the drama.

It was a little embarrassing but Betty wanted their insight. "He tried to kiss me."

"What!" Hilda and Justin looked at each other again.

"What do you mean **tried**?" Hilda asked. That didn't really register for her.

"Well…I kinda jumped out of the way and he smacked his head on a post." Betty confessed. "But in my defense, I thought he'd gone a little…crazy."

"Yeah…crazy in **love**." Justin emphasized the word love. Betty and Hilda gave him a look. "What?" he said.

"So he didn't actually kiss you?" Hilda clarified.

"No…not exactly…not at all actually. The head injury was kind of a mood killer."

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Hilda asked

"I don't know." Betty took a deep breath. "I guess I'll have to talk to him."

"But what are you going to say? I mean…are you…you know…interested?"

"Hilda, I honestly don't know. I've never thought of Daniel that way before. We've always just been friends."

"Well, you should figure it out before you close any doors…just sayin'" Hilda said.

"Yeah. Anyway, you guys need to go to bed. It's really late there. Thanks for…uh…letting me know…I guess." Her mind was a mess now.

They disconnected and Betty decided she might as well get into work early. She had a lot to do anyway and there was no way she was going back to sleep after that conversation.

The office was quiet in the early hours of the morning and Betty was extremely productive in the hour and a half before anyone else showed up. She completed her budget and started to get a small presentation of it ready for Lindsey. She did some research on other potential advertisers she could set up meetings with. She sorted through about twenty resumes for the job as her assistant and she went online to find out a little about a freelance writer that Lindsey had spoken to her about.

As people started arriving to work, Betty decided that she needed to get in touch with Daniel. She hadn't figured out exactly how she was feeling but she knew that after what happened when they were out last night, she couldn't let too much time pass before they confronted the issue. And loaded with the new information that she had, she definitely had to talk to him…as much as she might like to avoid the whole issue altogether.

She picked up her phone and texted him, inviting him to her flat for dinner. She didn't feel like she had too many options. Their conversation was probably going to be personal and she didn't want to do that in a busy restaurant. She just hoped that Daniel wouldn't read too much into the fact that she was inviting him to her place. It was weird that she now had to worry about these kinds of things with Daniel.


	7. Chapter 7

Daniel arrived at Betty's flat just after six thirty. He had no idea if it would be wise to bring her flowers or not - he opted not to. The text just said they had to talk. Was that ever a good thing? To him it sounded like Betty wanted to have **that** talk - the "let's just be friends" talk. She had invited him to dinner though…on a Friday night…maybe that was a good thing. She could have chosen to meet up somewhere later and had the "let's just be friends" talk then. He had decided to pick up a bottle of wine on the way over. Wine was a safe, platonic kind of dinner gift. Plus, it had the added benefit of dulling any unwanted sensations that might be inflicted upon him this evening should they end up having **the** talk after all.

"Hey Daniel." She said with a hesitant smile as she let him in.

"Hi. How was work?" Daniel tried to keep the mood light.

"Great. Come in. Make yourself at home."

Betty's flat was tiny with just the bare minimum of furniture. She'd been so busy with the magazine she hadn't had any time to decorate. She had a small kitchen table with two chairs and a sofa in the living area with a television on a stand. In the corner she had a small desk with a laptop on it.

Daniel put the wine on the table while Betty grabbed dinner out of the oven. She'd picked up Chinese food on the way home.

"Take out?" Daniel commented "I thought you were going to cook for me." He teased.

"Believe me, you'll be glad I didn't. Papi did most of the cooking when I was at home. Once I moved out I managed to master pasta. But other than that, I still have a lot of learning to do in the cooking department. I'm not really ready to subject anyone to my amateur skills."

"I love Chinese food." Daniel said appeasing her while he opened the bottle of wine.

While they were eating Betty asked Daniel how his job hunt was going.

"Great." He said. "I have an interview lined up for Monday and another one on Thursday."

"That's fantastic! I'm sure it won't take you long to get something." Betty's smile was beaming. Daniel smiled back.

After they finished Betty started cleaning up and Daniel got up to help her. They worked in silence for a few minutes and then Betty excused herself to go into the back bedroom. As luck would have it Justin's parcel had arrived for her earlier in the day. She picked it up off the bed where she had left it and walked back to the kitchen. Daniel had just finished putting the last stuff away and was pouring himself another glass of wine. Betty thought now was as good a time as any. She placed the magazine down on the table gently. Daniel looked at it and froze for a second.

"Where did you get that?" He asked

"Justin sent it. It arrived today."

"Have you read it?"

"Parts of it."

"Any interesting parts?" They were tiptoeing around it.

"Daniel, I read your letter." She couldn't stand the evasive talk any longer. She took a deep breath and added "Why didn't you tell me?"

"In New York or last night?"

"Either."

He paused for a minute collecting his thoughts, and then he started. "Well, I didn't tell you back in New York because I had barely figured it out myself. And I knew you needed to take this job – it's your dream. I didn't want to get in the way of that. I didn't want to confuse you. Besides, how do you say something like that to your best friend?"

"Well what about last night? Why didn't you say anything last night?"

"I kind of tried…" He said raising his eyebrows.

Betty scoffed lightheartedly. "You mean by trying to stick your tongue down my throat?"

"Hey! There was no tongue. There were hardly any lips." Daniel defended and then added "There was some forehead and some concrete but definitely no tongue." They both laughed.

She sat back down at the table and Daniel followed.

Daniel asked more seriously "So what now?" He held his breath waiting for her to answer.

"I don't mean to play games Daniel…but I just don't know. I've never thought of you that way before."

"Never?"

Betty shook her head.

"Never…ever?" Daniel was really searching for some hope.

Betty was amused "Is that so difficult to believe?" she teased him.

He was not deterred. "Not even once? Not even in the deep subconscious recesses of your mind."

Immediately Betty thought back to last night's very interesting dream. She didn't answer. Daniel noticed and that was enough for him.

"So you have…haven't you?" he started grinning.

Betty was flustered. Why was he able to read her so well? "Only once…last night…and it was just a stupid dream." She said quickly trying to defend herself.

"You had a dream about me?" Daniel was intrigued.

Betty stood up and turned her back to him, pretending she needed to wipe off the counter. Her face had gone beat red. The heat was rising from somewhere around her toes.

Daniel noticed her discomfort and the light bulb went on. "You had a **dream** about me." This time it wasn't a question and his amusement and delight were evident.

"Was it a good dream or a **bad **dream?" He asked, emphasizing the word bad. He was obviously teasing her now.

"Daniel…I'm a little uncomfortable with this conversation." She was hoping to appeal to his more compassionate side.

"Obviously." He became more serious. "It doesn't have to be a dream you know?"

"Are you kidding me?" Betty turned and looked at him amazed. "You're not seriously handing me a line right now?"

Daniel looked a little sheepish and he realized all the things he loved about Betty – her wit, her intelligence but mostly her ability to cut through all of his crap - were going to prove to be interesting in the romance department. _If I get the chance._ He thought to himself.

"Yeah. I guess I was, a little. You can't blame a guy for trying." There was silence for a minute and then he decided to bring them back to the real point of the conversation. "So where does that leave us?" he asked.

"I don't know. Our friendship is really great – I don't want to mess with that. I don't want things to change between us."

"They already have Betty. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Remember when we went from being boss and assistant to being friends? It wasn't the same but we stayed close - became closer in some ways because our relationship was built on friendship rather than responsibility. We spent time together because we wanted to not because our jobs dictated it. Our relationship evolved and I think it can evolve again if we let it."

He stood up and walked over to the counter where she was standing.

"Look…I don't want to pressure you." He took her hand gently. "You know we'll always be friends, right? Even if you decide you don't want to give **us** a try." He was being sincere – he didn't want to loose her completely – but, truthfully, a part of him wondered how he would cope if that was what she decided.

"What if we try it and it doesn't work?" She voiced her biggest fear.

"What if we don't and we always regret it?" He retorted.

Betty thought about that for a minute. She'd never been one to let fear get in her way when a great opportunity came along. Was this a great opportunity? Her relationship with Daniel - as friends - was wonderful. They knew each other so well; they supported each other; they always had fun together; they always knew they were on the same team. But could she feel more than that? That was the question she'd been asking herself since Justin and Hilda had read her the letter. She thought maybe she could. For one thing she couldn't get that stupid dream out of her head.

Then she looked up at him and said "I don't want to let my fear hold me back…hold **us** back."

Daniel looked back at her, searching her face for the meaning behind her statement. He wanted to hope that she meant she was willing to give them a chance but she hadn't exactly said that.

Betty continued "But the timing…" Daniel's heart sank - he knew what she was about to say. "I'm working so hard to get this magazine up and running. I didn't want any complications…any distractions."

One word in the last phrase gave Daniel hope but maybe he was reading too much into it…

"You said "**didn't**" not "**don't**"." Daniel wanted to clarify.

Betty looked at him unsure what he meant.

Daniel continued. "You said you didn't want any complications or distractions – as in: in the past you were hoping no complications or distractions would arise. But now that there are some…what are you going to do about them?"

"You missed your calling…you should have been a lawyer." Betty was amused. "What **am **I going to do about them?" She asked almost to herself.

"I don't want to interfere with your work Betty. I know that's why you came here in the first place…but just remember that there is more to life than magazines and work."

There was something about that statement that resonated with her. She'd always wondered if it was possible to have both a great career and a wonderful personal life. Wilhelmena had told her once that you couldn't have both. If she pushed Daniel away just because she was afraid of him interfering with work, would she end up bitter and alone like Wilhelmena some day? Many of the people she respected most in the world – Hilda, Papi, even Christina – seemed to be able to have both. Besides, even if she ended up succeeding with this magazine wouldn't it feel sort of hollow without someone to share it with? And then a final realization: Apart from maybe her family, Daniel would always be the one she wanted to share it with the most.

She knew what she wanted. But this was Daniel and it all seemed so strange.

"So…how would we go about…evolving…if that's what we wanted to do?" She asked awkwardly.

Daniel looked at her closely. He was still uncertain if she was all in but his hope had returned, so he took a chance. He took a step toward her and his face was within inches of hers.

"We could start here…" He said putting his hand up to her cheek and caressing it softly with his thumb. He gave her that look that she'd had trouble reading last night, only tonight she knew exactly what it meant. The tingles were back but this time they excited her. His eyes were so blue…how did she never notice that before? Her heart was pounding in her ears and her stomach flipped a little. He bent down slowly and just as Betty thought he was going to kiss her he stopped and pulled back slightly as if a thought had occurred to him. He whispered "If I try to kiss you now will I end up in the emergency room?"

"Only if there's a bee around." She chuckled at her own joke.

"What?" Daniel didn't understand.

"Never mind." She grinned up at him.

He bent down again and this time he did kiss her…very tenderly. He pulled back to look at her.

"Is this weird for you?" He asked.

"A little." She had to be honest. It was definitely weird but amazing at the same time. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea so she added "But in a good way. Maybe we just need a little practice." She couldn't believe she just said that.

Daniel smiled knowingly and he kissed her again still tenderly but with a little more purpose. Betty wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her close to him. His lips were so warm and sweet and Betty never wanted it to end. After a minute he pulled away slowly, resting his forehead against hers. Betty started to breath again.

"So tell me…was that like your dream?" Daniel asked teasing her again.

"Much, much better." Betty replied.


	8. Chapter 8

The evolution of their relationship turned out to be easier than Betty would have thought. The only aspect that really changed was the physical one – and even that seemed natural. They'd always had a fairly affectionate friendship – they had hugged, and she'd even held his hand on occasion. So it didn't seem odd to hold Daniel's hand or give him a warm embrace. But there was one big difference now - suddenly there were sparks with every touch. And the kissing – that was definitely new. It was hard to believe there had been a time when the idea of kissing Daniel would have made her laugh…that she would have been almost grossed out by it. Now, the thought of kissing him distracted her from everything else and she had to intentionally push it out of her head so she could get any work done. But she forced herself to…the magazine was the reason she was here and she wasn't going to be waylaid by romance.

Betty's work ethic combined with her determination to put out a fantastic first edition of the magazine proved to be a positive thing for Daniel. He would have loved to spend more time with her but since she was so busy he spent his time very productively looking for a job and a more permanent place to live than a hotel room. Over the next several weeks he received three separate job offers. He chose one with a medium sized advertising agency. It was a lower position than the other two and not as high paying but it allowed him to gain experience in a number of different aspects of the industry.

He also bought a condo. It was a nice three bedroom townhouse in a beautiful area of the city. He thought about renting a flat but changed his mind. Tossing rent out the window when he had the means to buy something just didn't make sense.

Betty was surprised. "Why are you buying a house?" She asked one evening after they had finished dinner together.

"Because it makes sense. The market is good right now. Why rent if I don't have to?"

She seemed a little uptight about it and Daniel noticed. "Why? What's wrong, Betty?"

"Nothing…it's just a house is so…permanent."

Daniel sensed her concern had something to do with their relationship or her feeling pressured. He tried to put her mind at ease. "It's just a smart financial decision Betty – that's all. It's not meant to put pressure on you – or on us. People buy and sell houses all the time."

That seemed to make her feel better about it. He forgot sometimes that they came from very different worlds. He had always had money and didn't think twice about spending it. She hadn't grown up that way so the purchase of a house must seem huge to her. He loved that she seemed to forget that his family had a lot of money.

The condo would close in thirty days. He would have to get some furniture and perhaps get his mother to ship over some of his stuff from his apartment in New York.

His mother was shocked. "You bought a condo…in London?"

"Yeah mom…it's where I'm living now, remember?"

"Of course Darling…it's just buying a condo seems so…permanent." Mrs. Meade said

Daniel chuckled "You sound just like Betty. She didn't understand at first either."

"Well…it's just that it makes it seem like you'll be staying there for a long time."

He started to get it; his mother was having a difficult time with his move to London. "Mom, you knew when I left I was going to stay here if Betty was willing to give us a chance."

"I know dear…and I'm really glad it's working out with the two of you. You seem very happy Daniel."

"I am Mom…happier than I've been in a long time."

He could almost hear his mother's smile. "I'm very glad Darling."


	9. Chapter 9

Amanda sauntered into Marc's office at Mode and sat down on corner of his desk.

"Heeeeyyy!" She said, greeting him.

"Hey Mandy-pants." What are you doing here? Don't you have some celebrity to shine and buff?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm here. I need to go to the closet. I'm out of accessories and I need to borrow some. Is there anything new in?"

Marc jumped up and ran to block the door of his office so Amanda couldn't leave.

"You know I love you Amanda, but I can't let you do that anymore. Now that I'm a full fledge fashion editor, Mode is kind of my baby….I can't let you plunder my baby!" He said the last part forcefully.

Amanda grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him away from the doorway.

"Out of my way, queen!"

"No! I won't" Marc said standing firm. "I won't let you do it!"

"Nooooo Marc!" Amanda wailed like a junkie needing a fix. "Don't cut me off! Please don't cut me off!"

She yanked on his arm trying to get him to move. When that proved unsuccessful she got a malicious look on her face and said "If you cut me off I'll tell everyone about the time you made out with Fat Carol in the copy room."

Marc looked confused.

Amanda paused for a second, thinking about it and then she said "Wait…maybe that was me."

Marc nodded.

She got another tactic. "Maybe I could trade some information for some swag."

"What do you mean?" Marc asked.

"Well, I'm a stylist now and I hear all sorts of interesting gossip in my line of work."

"Like what?" Marc was intrigued.

"Like…just yesterday I heard that Lindsey is going back into rehab." Amanda said hopefully.

"Eh…" Marc scrunched his nose like he wasn't very interested.

Amanda continued. "The starlet who plays Nicolette on "As the Shadow Changes" is actually a lesbian!"

Marc raised his eyebrows a little but didn't move from blocking the door.

Amanda hung her head in despair. Then something occurred to her. She was desperate – she had to try.

"Daniel moved to London to be with Betty 'cause he's in love with her!" She said quickly.

"WHAT!" Marc yelled. "How do you know that?"

"Don't you read your own magazine?" Amanda asked

"Only the interesting parts."

"It was all over Daniel's last letter from the editor."

"That was about Betty?" Marc couldn't believe it.

Amanda nodded. Marc moved out of the way and they started walking down the hall. Clearly that had been enough information for him.

"So Daniel and Betty huh?" Marc's tone had softened. "Aww, it's like Mode's own little fairy tale…Beauty and the Burrito."

"Betty's the burrito, right?" Amanda needed to clarify.

Marc continued talking but stopped walking as if deep in thought. "Can you imagine if they had puppies?" Marc shuddered. "It would be the ultimate brouhaha for Mother Nature…the perfect genetic storm - a mix of sleek and sexy with frumpy and bleh." Marc was starting to get hysterical. "His charm…her chunk; his machismo…her myopia; his form…her fur; his baby blues…her…"

"Marc!" Amanda slapped him back into reality.

"Sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away there." They started walking again.

"I'll say. I don't think they're quite at that stage yet."

Marc was more sensitive. "Awww…I'm sorry Mandy. I know you used to have feelings for Daniel. Is this hard to talk about?"

"Not really." Amanda answered. "I kind of think the idea of Daniel and Betty together is sweet. They've always had this special connection…you know?" Marc knew – he nodded and Amanda continued. "I really can't blame Daniel…Betty has this way about her. At first you don't want anything to do with her but then she kind of grows on you and you can't imagine your life without her in it."

"Yeah…" Marc sighed adding sweetly "Like toenail fungus."

"Besides, I'm really into Tyler now. He's pretty hot."

Marc nodded agreement.

Amanda continued. "And he doesn't come with all Daniel's baggage…you know?"

"Yeah." Marc nodded "he's not lugging more than a tiny bit of rehab and a little attempted murder."


	10. Chapter 10

Daniel was sitting on his new sofa watching television. He was surrounded by boxes and bags. He was beat. He'd been running around for the past two days picking up things for his new place. He'd gotten the keys to his new condo just a couple of days ago and for the past 48 hours his life had been chaos. Between his new job and trying to get settled in his new place, he hadn't had anytime to just sit and rest. He was only going to take a few minutes and then get back at unpacking. _Maybe I could just close my eyes for a minute. _

His phone rang startling him out of his half sleep. He scrambled around trying to locate it for a couple of rings, and then he picked it up. He didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"What did you do?" There was an angry voice on the other end.

"What? Who is this?"

"To my baby sister…what did you do to Betty? If you've done something I swear….Bobby knows people." It was obviously Hilda.

"Hilda? What are talking about? I didn't do anything." Daniel was confused.

"Oh yeah? Then why is Betty hiding away - avoiding us? She only does that when she's really upset."

"What do you mean? Betty's fine, everything's going great."

"Daniel…she hasn't been on Skype for three days now." Her tone had changed from anger to worry. "She's on there almost every night. And she hasn't answered the phone any of the times I've called. Papi can't even get a hold of her."

"She's probably just busy Hilda. I know she's had a lot of meetings with Lindsey Dunne this week. And the first issue is due out in only a month. She's swamped with work." He was trying to comfort Hilda but he knew it was odd for Betty not to talk to her family for that long.

"What do you mean "probably" busy? What kind of a boyfriend doesn't know if his girlfriend is busy?" She was back to angry.

"The kind that lets her have some space so she can get her work done." He was trying to remain calm. "I just moved this week too…so we've both been really busy." He added defending himself.

"Oh." Hilda was silent for a minute. She had a different tone – one more of concern - when she asked "When is the last time you spoke to her?"

"I don't know…"Daniel had to think back a minute. "I texted her this morning…I remember."

"Not texted Daniel…**spoke**."

Daniel had to think back a little farther. "I guess I haven't actually spoken to her in two days." He had to admit. "She had an important staff meeting last night that she said was going to go late and a dinner meeting two nights ago. I spoke to her before her dinner meeting. I think that was the last time." Now Daniel was starting to worry. But wouldn't he be able to tell if something was off by her texts? He thought back…they had all been really short notes back and forth. _Did she feel like having dinner…Sorry, dinner mtg. Did she want to go for lunch this week…Sorry 2 swamped. _ They were all factual and he'd gotten none of the witty remarks she usually sent when they texted back and forth. He just assumed she'd been too busy - he sure was. But maybe something was really wrong. It wouldn't hurt to check up on her.

"I'll go over to her place and make sure she's ok." Daniel said. He didn't mention the texts being unlike Betty…there was no point getting Hilda even more worked up. Besides, he was feeling a little ashamed that her sister from across the ocean would notice something was off with Betty before he did.

He tried calling from his cell in the cab ride over. She wasn't answering her cell phone. He tried her land line. It rang several times and then her answering machine picked up. He didn't leave a message. When he got to her building he pressed the buzzer…no answer. He walked around to the far side of the building. He could see Betty's window from there. It was dark but there was a little flicker, like the television was on. She was definitely home. Now he was worried. Why wasn't she answering?

He buzzed again…still no answer. He wasn't sure what he expected. Was she lying dead on the floor from some burglary gone awry? Probably not…her tv was still there. Other than her laptop it was probably her most valuable item. His imagination was definitely running away with him. _Pull yourself together._

He called her land line again…again the answering machine picked up.

"Hello you've reached Betty Suarez, please leave a message…beep"

"Betty…it's me…I know you're there. I'm outside and I can see your tv on. Please let me in." He paused for a second hoping she'd pick up the phone, and then he continued. "If you don't I'm going to have to climb that fire escape and I'm wearing my new Versace pants...I'm pretty sure they won't survive the climb."

"You're not wearing Versace…you're in jeans." She'd finally picked up the phone.

Daniel looked up and saw her peaking out the window.

"They're Versace jeans." He grinned up at her. "Let me come up…please."

She opened the door for him. When he got up to her flat he saw that she was in her pajamas and her fuzzy slippers. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy and her nose was red. Clearly she had been crying for hours. He came inside and noticed balls of Kleenex all around the sofa. It really was a pathetic sight…the kind of sight he'd only seen Betty in the middle of twice. Once when Henry went back to Tucson…and the second time when Matt left for Africa. This was most definitely a heartbroken Betty Suarez.

"If I didn't know better I'd swear that I was responsible for this." He joked, gesturing at her and the Kleenex. She tried to smile but tears welled up again and she started to sob.

"Betty, what's wrong?" He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She just shook her head like she couldn't form any words. They walked over to the sofa and sat down. He just held her close in silence for a few minutes while she cried some more.

"Hilda's really worried about you." Daniel said breaking the silence after a while. Betty nodded her head. Daniel continued "I guess I'm pretty insensitive…it takes your sister who lives on the other side of the Atlantic to let me know something's up."

"Hilda called you?" Betty finally spoke.

"Yeah. She ripped my head off first - thinking that I'd done something." He chuckled. "Man…I do not want to cross her."

Betty managed a smile.

"You should probably call them…so they're not worried."

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now."

"Betty, what's going on?" Daniel was really concerned.

She didn't answer him. She couldn't – it was like she couldn't face anyone with it right now.

He slipped his finger under her chin and lifted her head up to look at her face. His heart was breaking…he wanted to take away whatever was causing this. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. What if she was really sick? What if she was as sick as Molly had been? He was pretty sure he couldn't cope with that again. He would never leave Betty – he loved her. He just didn't know what might happen to his sanity if he had to live through that again. All the blood drained from his head.

Betty noticed. "Daniel…what's wrong?"

"You're not…sick…are you?" He asked.

Betty immediately realized what he was thinking. "No…no Daniel it's nothing like that."

He let out a huge sigh of relief.

She was feeling guilty now. She hadn't meant for him to think the worse…to be reminded of Molly like that. "I'm really sorry to make you worry like that Daniel."

"I'm just glad you're not sick." He smiled at her. "So what on earth has you in this state?"

She took a deep breath…she still didn't want to talk about it but after worrying him like that she felt she owed him an explanation. "Lindsey says the magazine is likely to fold before we even get the first edition to print."

"What? Why?" Daniel was dumbfounded.

"Our biggest advertisers are pulling out. They had a rough third quarter and have decided they need to put their advertising money into something more…reliable. Lindsey said they backed out on the contract last week. He's been trying to see if there were any legal options but it looks like there aren't. The past few days and nights we've been trying to rework the budget - to see if we can figure out a way to at least let the first couple of issues run." She paused "There's no way…" A single tear ran down her cheek as she continued. "Lindsey said if the magazine was more established he'd take a chance. But in this market…"She broke down again. Daniel waited while she collected herself. "It looks like I'll be out of a job soon." She spoke the last part very softly, almost a whisper.

Daniel didn't know what to say to comfort her. A part of him was relieved that she wasn't sick and he wanted to say something to that effect - to put all of this into perspective - but he didn't want her to think he was diminishing the very real disappointment she must be feeling.

Before he had time to say anything Betty spoke again. "I guess I'll have to go back to New York too."

She looked up at him with so much meaning in her eyes and Daniel suddenly realized that her heartbreak had a dozen different layers to it. She wasn't just loosing a job, there was so much more to it. She had to go back to New York admitting defeat – even though it wasn't her fault, she was feeling like a failure. She had to give up this exciting new life in London where she had started reinventing herself as a young confident career woman. She had to go back to New York while Daniel was here in London with a new job and a new home - she hadn't said it but he had read it in her face.

The last part of the heartbreak was the only thing he could do anything about.

"Are you worried about us?" He just wanted to make sure that wasn't compounding the problem.

"Partly…your life is here now, Daniel. You have a good job and a new condo…"

"Condos can be sold and my job isn't that good." He joked. "Besides, I think they have advertising agencies in New York. Please Betty, don't worry about us."

"You'd come back to New York?" She seemed surprised.

"Of course I would. You are the reason I'm here in the first place. I love **you** Betty; not my job or my condo."

It was the first time he'd actually said those words. They'd been implied – in the letter, and by the fact he'd followed her across an ocean. But this was the first time he actually admitted it to her out loud. She was still heartbroken, upset by the disappointment of a broken dream…but this was the first ray of light she'd seen in two very bleak, dark days. She wasn't ready to say it back but she also knew that he wasn't expecting it, and that made it even better.

"What I don't understand is why you're talking about going back to New York like it's a done deal." Daniel said

"What do you mean? We've worked and reworked the numbers. There is not enough money for the budget."

"There's not enough money without those advertisers – but what about other ones? You've already won a handful of advertisers on your own. Why can't you find some more?"

"Daniel these were the big guys - the major players. With them backing out we're sure to loose some of the smaller ones as well – as soon as they find out. Not only that but if Lindsey Dunne can't find someone to back the magazine how would I be able to? Lindsey is much more capable than I am."

"Maybe." Daniel said "Or maybe Lindsey Dunne is just a busy business man with a dozen other publications to worry about and doesn't have the time or the inclination to bother trying to save one tiny pet project of his. Rather than stress out about it and potentially loose money, he'll cut his losses before the magazine starts."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying: The Betty Suarez I know – the intelligent, resourceful, determined woman I'm in love with, wouldn't be cowed by some weak-minded businessmen. She'd put up a fight. Someone once told me anything I really wanted was worth fighting for." He was throwing her own words back at her.

She had been leaning against his chest as they sat on the couch but now she pushed herself off and sat up.

"It would be so much work…" She said softly. It was daunting to even imagine it.

"Since when are you afraid of hard work?"

"What if I can't do it?"

"Then you can't do it and we move back to New York." She loved how he said "we". "But you'll never know unless you give it a shot and you've really got nothing to loose."

Betty had that look in her eyes that Daniel loved. The one that said she could change the world. She was suddenly very different than she had been only a few minutes before. He'd given her some hope - enough to lift her out of the pit she was laying in and get her running. She found a paper and pencil and started jotting down their ideas on how she would go about winning new advertisers to the magazine. They worked out specifics of what kinds of companies she should target and even started to do some research on some of those companies on the internet. They worked for about and hour and a half before Betty decided they should stop – it was getting very late.

"Thank you Daniel." She said as she walked him to the door. "I feel a hundred percent better than when you first got here."

That reminded him "Oh…make sure to call your sister!"

"Oh yeah." Betty smiled. She was going to get an earful from Hilda.

"And Betty…don't ever do that again ok?" Daniel was serious.

"Do what?"

"Don't lock yourself away like that…shutting everyone out."

Betty raised her eyebrows "You're one to talk Mr. Pot."

"Yeah…you're right." Daniel admitted. "But you have so many people that love you and they worry about you when you do stuff like that. Besides…" he joked "I'm really afraid of your sister."

Betty laughed. But then she said more seriously "How about we make I deal? I promise that I will try not to shut the world out when I'm upset if you promise to do the same." She was leaning against the open door and looked so adorable in her pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

"Deal." He paused for a minute before adding "we should probably ratify that with a kiss or something."

"Probably."

He leaned down and kissed her softly. She kissed him back wrapping her arms around his neck. He grabbed the door and pushed it closed, then he leaned up against it pulling her closer to him. His kisses were passionate and warm. Betty responded to them with equal passion. He slowly pulled back and looked at her. Her face was flush and she was breathless.

He cleared his throat. "I should go." He said without moving.

"Yeah." She knew that was best.

He kissed her again and it started all over – one responding to the other, the passion growing with each kiss. He pulled back slowly again.

"I really should go." Again he didn't move - like his body wouldn't obey the commands of his brain.

Betty smiled at him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt to pull him away from the door then she opened the door and playfully shoved him out into the hall.

Daniel grinned at her. "I'll call you tomorrow…you'd better answer." As he started walking away he turned one last time and said "Call Hilda!"


	11. Chapter 11

The next few weeks Betty worked like crazy. She made cold call after cold call – setting up meetings and lunches to try to get companies to buy advertising spots in the magazine. At one point about midway through the second week she was so discouraged and tired she was almost ready to quit. Daniel wouldn't let her.

"You've come so far…you're almost there. Just give it another week." He had said to her.

She mused at the role reversal that had taken place in their relationship. He was now the confident one with all the pep talks, pushing her to achieve her potential. Had she been so annoying when the shoes were on the other feet, she wondered.

At the end of the third exhausting week, she had done it. She had secured enough advertisers who had made a six month commitment that the magazine could roll out at least six issues. She was still on a tightrope – there was no telling what would happen after that. But if she could ensure a quality magazine for the first three issues she was sure they would extend their ads.

Lindsey Dunne was very impressed with her initiative and determination. "I certainly made the right decision when I hired you." He had said to her. Betty was so proud.

Daniel took her out for a celebration dinner. They hadn't seen each other in the three weeks. She had been working such long hours and when she got home from work she had been too tired to do anything but sleep. Even her weekends had been filled with research and trying to catch up on the stuff she hadn't had time to do because of all the meetings she had to go to. She still had to make sure there was quality material going into the first issue in case she had achieved her goal.

"To: hard work and determination." Daniel raised his champagne glass. "I'm really proud of you Betty."

Betty blushed a little. She was still uncomfortable when people praised her. Daniel thought she looked stunning this evening. She was wearing a beautiful sapphire blue dress. Her hair was pulled back away from her face but was tumbling down her back in soft, brown curls. He had really missed her. Their relationship was still fairly new when she'd thrown herself into this project and three weeks without seeing her had seemed like an eternity.

Daniel wanted tonight to be special. She had worked so hard, she deserved a celebration. He had taken her to one of London's most extravagant restaurants. Betty had argued as usual when Daniel wanted to do something like this for her. But he had insisted. He didn't do it all the time and there were occasions when it was justified – tonight was one of them.

"You know…I didn't think I could do it. It really felt like such a long shot going into it. And it's still fragile…there's no telling what might happen in the next few months. But for now, I'll take it." She smiled.

While they ate dinner Daniel filled Betty in on what had been happening with his job. He was learning so much about the advertising industry. He loved the fast pace – everything was in constant flux. He loved the creativity and the high pressure. He had even signed up for an evening course on graphic design at the London Art Institute so he could learn how to layout his own creative ideas for ads. He'd already been to two classes.

"Wow!" Betty said "Why didn't I know that? How long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"Twenty one days, thirteen hours and twelve minutes…give or take." Daniel answered.

Betty laughed. He continued "You know you haven't even seen my condo yet."

"That's right!" Betty remembered. "Maybe after supper you could show it to me."

"I was hoping you'd ask." He smiled at her.

After dinner they grabbed a cab. Daniel's condo was in a very nice area of London. Betty couldn't help but notice all the large homes in the area.

"Fancy…Mr. Meade." She teased him.

He laughed. "Mine is only a townhouse Betty. I didn't buy a mansion."

Daniel's house was tucked away on a side street off of the main road. There were four units attached together but each with its own entrance and garage. The grounds and garden were shared between the four units and they were meticulously kept up by the grounds keeper. The complex had been built only three years ago so the units were all new.

Daniel hadn't done much decorating but he had bought some furniture. He had a dark leather sofa and matching recliner, both facing a large, flat screen television he had mounted on the wall. There was a small gas fireplace in the corner. It wasn't the extravagance he had grown up in but it certainly was elegant. He showed her the kitchen and then they walked down the hall and she saw the bathroom and all three bedrooms, stopping at the master bedroom last.

"It's beautiful." Betty said sincerely.

He took a step toward her. She looked so fantastic tonight…he placed his hand on one cheek and kissed the other cheek softly. His hand dropped to her shoulder and he kissed her neck. He ran his hand down the full length of her bare arm grasping her hand, and he lifted his head to look into her eyes. "**You're **beautiful." He said. He kissed her softly at first but then more hungrily.

Betty was taken aback. They were in his bedroom…only inches from his bed. He was so handsome and he loved her so much. A part of her wanted to relax and go wherever he wanted to take them. But another part of her knew she wasn't ready. She was falling for him that's for sure…but she wasn't sure if she loved him yet. She pulled away.

"Daniel…" she whispered. "I can't…"

He took a deep breath in. "I know." he said as he let the breath out. He knew Betty well enough to know she wasn't going to fall into bed with him on a whim. They'd been dating almost two months, and known each other for over four years…that wasn't exactly what most people would call a "whim". But Betty Suarez wasn't most people. And she hadn't told him how she felt about him which made him realize she was still trying to figure it out. As long as she was trying to figure it out…he would have to wait.

"I'm really sorry." She looked at him apologetically.

"I know that too." He smiled at her. "I didn't mean to push…you just look so good tonight. And I haven't seen you…been able to touch you…in three weeks. I guess I had a weak moment."

She smiled at him, letting him know she understood.

"Let's go do something fun!" He said changing the mood.

"What?"

"I don't know…dancing or something. If I can't have you to myself, at least I can show you off."


	12. Chapter 12

It was Thursday evening the week following the magazine launch and Betty was getting into bed. Daniel had gone out with some of the gang from his work so she had spent the evening doing some work she had brought home and catching up with people in New York. She had been on Skype with both Hilda and Amanda and she had sent a few emails to some friends as well.

She was just dozing off when her cell phone rang. She looked at the display – it was Daniel.

"Hello." Betty answered.

"Heeey, Betty. How's it goin'?" Daniel sounded slightly inebriated.

"It's fine. It's late. Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah. I had a blast. You? Did you have a good time?" He had clearly forgotten she was staying in.

"Sure." Betty smiled to herself – he must have had a great time. "Um…Why are you calling?" She didn't want to sound rude but it was getting kind of late for small talk – she had to go to work in the morning.

"Oh ya…why I'm calling…" He paused like he had to think about it.

"Daniel?" Betty wondered if he was still there.

"Ya?"

"How much did you have to drink?"

"I'm not sure. My mates kept buying me drinks." This was the first time Daniel had gone out with the guys from work since he'd started his job. Betty wondered if the game Daniel's coworkers were playing was "Initiate the Newbie" or "Tank the Yank" – ultimately it didn't matter, the result was the same. "I think I had too much."

"Really?" Betty chuckled.

"Why are you calling?" She asked him again.

"Oh ya…guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm locked out." She should have guessed. Daniel was notorious for locking himself out. "I thought maybe you could come and bring your key over…"

"Daniel I don't have a key to your place in London…remember. I had a key to your place in New York a long time ago but I don't have one now." She spoke to him slowly and carefully like he was in preschool.

"London? Oh ya…Oh…" The thought had just occurred to him that he might not be able to get in. "Maybe I could just sleep here…" he looked around at the front step.

"Where are you?" She asked him.

"On my front step." He answered.

Betty was mortified. Clearly he wasn't thinking straight. He couldn't sleep on his front step all night.

"I'll be right over." She said. If worse came to worse and they couldn't figure out how to get in they could come back to her place and he could sleep on the couch.

She got dressed quickly and called a cab.

When she got to Daniel's, he was sitting on the front step leaning up against the door. He was a little disheveled but Betty thought he looked cute. It was a really good thing she liked him so much or she might have been slightly annoyed that she had to get out of bed for this.

"Hey Betty. " His face lit up. "You've come to rescue me."

"Like always." Betty smiled. "Ok…let's get down to business. Did you leave a key hidden outside somewhere?"

"Hide a key outside…" Daniel was impressed. "What a great idea!"

Betty's heart sank – this was not a good sign. Clearly hiding a key outside was a novel idea to him.

"So no key outside then?" She just needed to make sure before they did something more drastic.

"I'm totally going to do that."

Betty stood thinking for a minute and then she started walking around the complex to the back of Daniel's unit. Daniel followed her. She climbed the steps to the back deck and tried the back garden door. It was locked. She looked at the windows – the one a little higher up looked like it might actually be slightly open, or at least not locked. She reached up but she was a little too short. She stood on her tiptoes but she still couldn't quite reach it. Daniel staggered up behind her.

"You're a little short." He commented.

"Thanks for the opinion. A little help please…Could you slide that and see if it's locked?" He reached up and pushed the window across.

"Hey look at that. I left the window unlocked."

"Thank God." Betty said. "Now we just need to figure out how to get up and in it."

She had an idea.

"Get on your hands and knees." She said to Daniel.

"What?"

"Get on your hands and knees."

Daniel did what she asked. "This is a little kinky isn't it?" He tried winking but really just made a contorted face.

Betty shook her head, chuckling to herself. She climbed on his back using the wall for balance. Standing on his back the window was just about chest height – not quite low enough for her to climb through.

"I need to get higher." She said. "Can you try to stand up a bit?"

"You're joking, right?" Daniel asked.

"No…I need to get a bit higher or I can't climb through."

Daniel tried standing up. He was more than slightly blitzed so standing up from hands and knees without Betty standing on his back would have been a challenge. As it was, he swayed one way first and then the other. Betty jumped for the open window so she wouldn't end up on the ground over the edge of the deck. Daniel lost his balance and fell face first onto the deck.

"Help!" Betty yelled. She was hanging from the ledge part way in the window and part way out. She didn't have enough leverage to boost herself up. She was kicking her feet trying to get traction on the side of the house. Daniel started laughing hysterically.

"Are you kidding me?" She said. "Are you going to sit there and laugh while I'm stuck here?"

"Sorry." He struggled to get up while stifling his laugh. He finally managed to stand.

"How can I help?" He asked chuckling.

"Boost me up." Betty said.

He grabbed her feet and pushed her a little higher. She managed to get a grip on the inside of the window ledge and started pulling herself through. As she got farther through, gravity took over and she fell the rest of the way.

"Betty…are you ok?" Daniel asked from outside.

"I'm great." She said sarcastically from the floor of his bathroom. Luckily the lid of his toilet was closed or the situation might have been much worse.

She unlocked the back door and let him in. He looked at her so gratefully.

"What would I ever do without you?" He asked, putting his arm on her shoulder.

"Well you'd be sleeping on the steps of your condo, for one." She smiled at him. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Yeah…to bed…let's do that." He kissed the side of her head and tried being seductive but in his state it was a sorry attempt.

"**You're** going to bed." She clarified. "**I'm** going home."

He looked so disappointed. "Really?" He asked.

"Trust me Daniel. You don't want it to happen this way…you'd never remember it."

"I'll want to remember it, that's for sure." He said partly to himself. Betty just smiled.

The next morning Daniel woke up to his alarm blaring. At least it felt like it was blaring. His head was pounding and his mouth was the Sahara. He promptly shut it off. What had happened last night? He remembered the guys from work being so friendly and buying lots of rounds. He vaguely remembered Betty being at his house. Instinctively he looked around to see if she had stayed. Part of him was relieved…it would be bad not to remember that. He sat up and noticed a note from Betty. It told him she'd set his alarm and she hoped his day wouldn't be too rough. At the bottom she'd left Hilda's hangover remedy. Daniel put his head back down on the pillow. Today was a good day to call in sick. His phone rang almost immediately after he'd decided that. He was going to ignore it but he noticed it was Betty.

"Hello." He answered groggily.

"Hey Daniel. How are you feeling?" He could tell she was smiling.

"Wonderful." He said sarcastically. "I'm going to call in sick."

"No!" She was adamant…and far too loud in Daniel's opinion.

"Why not? I feel like crap."

"Because then they win." Betty answered.

"Who wins?"

"Your co-workers. The one's who got you drunk last night. They're playing a game with you for fun. You have to go in to work to show them they didn't win."

"You mean they did this on purpose?" That would explain everyone being so generous with the drinks last night. "Why would they do that?"

"Because you're guys…for the same reason you punch each other on the arm or snap each other with wet towels in the locker room."

"We don't do that." Daniel said seriously.

Betty laughed. "Just get ready for work. And make Hilda's hangover remedy."

"I'll get ready for work…but I'm not drinking Hilda's sludge." Daniel got up. It was going to be a long day.


	13. Chapter 13

It was Tuesday morning and Betty was sitting at her desk looking over some photos for an article on the crisis in Pakistan and the role of Doctors without Borders. She loved her job and couldn't imagine a better fit for her. She was so glad Daniel had convinced her to fight for it. It had been so worth it.

On top of that, she and Daniel had been dating for just under three months and things were great in that department too. She thought she was falling in love with him although she still hadn't been ready to tell him quite yet…she just wasn't completely sure…and that was too BIG to be wrong about. She knew he loved her. He didn't tell her he loved her very often - probably because he didn't want her to feel pressured to say it back – but he had told her. Besides, she could tell by how patient he'd been in the physical aspect of their relationship – never pushing her; never expecting too much.

Was it wrong that she was waiting for the shoe to drop? It wasn't like Betty to be pessimistic and expect something bad just because everything was going so well…but lately she just couldn't shake this feeling.

Her assistant interrupted her thoughts.

"Betty, there's a call on line two for you."

"Who is it?" Betty asked.

"He said his name was Matt. He's an old friend or something?" And just like that…thud…the rubber hit the linoleum.

"Ok. I got it." She paused for a minute before connecting the call. She had to collect her thoughts. Could it really be Matt Hartley? She hadn't seen him since they'd broken up when he'd left for Africa about ten months ago. She knew there was only one way to know for sure if it was him. She clicked the button to connect the call.

"Hello." She answered nonchalantly.

"Betty? Hi. It's Matt." Yep, it was him alright. It felt strange to hear his voice. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Matt! How are you? It's so good to hear from you." The feelings were genuine. There had been no animosity when he had left. She had loved him deeply and wanted him to be happy. When she saw how enthusiastic he was about going to Africa she knew she had to let him go - he needed to find his passion.

"I'm great. I'm in London." _He's here._ She stopped breathing for a minute and he continued. "I've been back to New York." He was matter of fact. "I stopped in at Mode because I wanted to see you. Amanda was there and she said that you had left and were now working in London."

"Amanda doesn't work at Mode anymore…" Betty was a little confused.

"I know. She was visiting or something. And to be precise, what she actually said was that you'd moved to Scotland and were working for the Queen or something? I had to get the real facts from Marc." They both laughed.

"Listen..." He was hesitant. "I…uh…was kind of hoping I could see you. Maybe we could have dinner or something."

Betty was silent for a moment. She wanted to have dinner with him. She wanted to see him; to find out all about Africa and how it had changed him. Surely there was no harm in an innocent dinner between two old friends. Then she thought of Daniel. Daniel; what would he say if he found out she'd gone out with Matt Hartley and hadn't told him? He would be so hurt even if she did explain that it was completely innocent. in the past she'd learned her lesson about meeting up with ex-boyfriends the hard way. She wouldn't make that mistake with Daniel.

"Uh…I don't know." She said.

"You don't know if you can have dinner?" He was confused. They hadn't ended on bad terms just two people going different directions.

"I mean…I'm seeing someone. And I'm not sure how he would feel if you and I went out to dinner and I didn't discuss it with him first…you know?" He knew.

"Is it someone I know? Stupid question…Of course it's not someone I know…I don't know anyone in London." He stammered in typical Matt fashion disappointment creeping into his voice.

"Actually…you do know him." Betty figured she might as well be honest. "It's Daniel." She figured Matt probably didn't need a last name.

"Daniel…?" He paused while trying to place the name. Suddenly the light when on. "Daniel Meade? You're seeing Daniel Meade?" He was shocked. "I heard he quit Mode. So he's here in London then?"

"Yeah. So let me talk to Daniel and let him know you're in town and you want to get together with me. Can I call you back?" They exchanged information and she hung up. Matt was staying in a hotel on the North end of London. They would have to take the tube if they were going to meet up somewhere.

Betty invited Daniel over to her flat after work so she could broach the subject of dinner with Matt in person. Daniel arrived just after six thirty. Betty was cooking.

"I thought you didn't cook?" He was surprised.

"It's a new recipe I wanted to try. It's nothing fancy, honest."

They sat down at the table when dinner was ready.

"Hey, this is pretty good." Daniel commented.

"Yeah. It's not bad. I guess I can make two things now." She smiled hesitantly.

She was feeling a little nervous about telling Daniel about Matt. She hadn't really figured out what she wanted to say. Daniel could sense something was wrong.

"Something is bugging you." He said. It was a statement not a question. Betty couldn't hide things from him.

No point delaying the inevitable. "Matt called. He's in town and he wants to have dinner."

Daniel didn't respond. He was trying to process what he had heard. Did she mean Matt Hartley? _Of course she did - that's why she's so edgy._ He was a little confused. "He wants to have dinner with us?" he asked, slightly perplexed. _That might be a little awkward._

Betty looked at him closely. _Was he serious? He did just say "__**us"**__ didn't he?_

"Not **us**, Daniel." She needed to clarify. "**Me**. He wants to have dinner with **me**."

_I'm an idiot - of course. _Daniel was finally putting it all together. Matt was in town and wanted to reconnect with Betty – alone - not with the two of them. Did he know about the two of them? Would Betty have told him? Daniel felt a little sick. He hated the idea of Betty getting together with Matt at all, let alone for dinner where there might be romantic music and candlelight and Matt would totally be mackin' on **his** Betty. Daniel hated feeling jealous. But he couldn't help it. He didn't trust Matt for a minute not to try to rekindle with Betty what they had had back in New York. And though he thought he should probably trust Betty, it was more that he didn't completely know how she felt about him. She had loved Matt back then - Daniel knew that. But did she love Daniel now? That was the real question. And would getting together with Matt just make her confused. He felt a little panicky. What if he lost Betty to Matt?

"Daniel?" She was waiting for some kind of response.

"You want to have dinner with Matt…like some kind of date…" he needed to clarify it "and you want me to be ok with it?"

"Not a **date,** Daniel - just two old friends having dinner." It bothered her that he would make it sound that way. She didn't understand what the big deal was. After all, she had thought to talk to him about it first. She didn't go behind his back.

"You and Matt are **not** just "two old friends". You make it sound like you just used to hang out after work or something." Daniel was trying to be rational but her argument didn't make sense. "You almost moved in with him Betty! You probably would have if he hadn't left you to go to Africa." He needed to remind her that Matt was the one who had left - he could do it to her again - he was flakey that way. "Jeez...Betty…he broke your heart…not once…but twice."

She was getting annoyed.

"I just want to find out about Africa. To see how it's changed him. Is that so awful?"

"Yeah it's awful. He's an ex-boyfriend Betty…one with a **lot** of history." He paused for a minute and then he said "I think you want to go because you want to see if he still has feelings for you…and if you still have feelings for him…to see if that door is still open."

She felt a twinge of guilt. He wasn't completely wrong – deep down a part of her had wondered that, but she hadn't even admitted it to herself. And now here he was accusing her of it. She was angry – with herself…and with him for knowing her so well. But that wasn't the whole truth…she didn't **want **to have feelings for Matt, she just needed to know if she had gotten over him so she could move on with Daniel. She didn't say that though.

Daniel looked at her and said "I don't want you to go."

She took a deep breath and said in a frighteningly calm, icy tone that Daniel rarely heard from her "I wasn't asking your permission. I was just letting you know out of respect for you…for us."

"So you're going to go?"

"Yes."

Daniel continued "I won't stand around waiting for Matt to break your heart again so I can step in and pick up the pieces. If that's what you choose to do…don't expect me to be here for you Betty."

He couldn't believe she was choosing to go even after he'd asked her not to. He loved her – he'd left his life in New York because he didn't want to be without her. And now she wanted to have dinner with Matt to see… what exactly…if she still loved him? The unfairness of it made his head spin. He needed air. He got up from the table and walked to the door.

"Daniel…" Betty called after him.

He kept walking.


	14. Chapter 14

It was Wednesday afternoon and Claire Meade was reading the society pages of the New York Times at her desk.

"**Hartley Heir Returns from Tour in Africa" **the article read.

_Matt must be back in New York._ She thought. She took a sip of coffee and continued reading. The article explained how Matt had returned a month ago and had planned to do some event fund raising in the city to earn money for more wells in Africa. He'd had the experience of a lifetime - the article read - and he was going to go back for another tour in about a year's time. The article went into detail about the work Matt had been doing and what he was going to go back and do once more funds were raised. It was the end of the article that raised Claire's eyebrows.

"The young heir to the Hartley billions is planning on hosting his first fund raising event at the end of the month, as soon as he returns from a brief vacation in England." Claire almost choked on her coffee.

Matt was in England. Did he know Betty was there? Something told Claire that Betty was probably the reason he'd taken a vacation to England in the first place. All of a sudden Claire felt protective of Daniel. He had worked so hard these past few months. He had a new job he enjoyed. He had a new start in a new place with someone he really loved. He was so happy lately. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him like that…maybe never. Betty had this wonderful affect on him. She grounded him; boosted his confidence; made him soar. Was it possible for something to come along and take that away from him? Was it possible for someone like Matt to swipe his feet out from underneath him? She certainly hoped not.

She didn't dislike Matt, despite her disdain for Matt's mother and her bitter history with Matt's father. Matt had always seemed fairly down to earth; not the typical spoiled little rich brat so often bred of billionaires who had more money than sense, and more greed than money. Sure he'd made life difficult for Betty when he'd been her boss, but then again she'd jilted him a little and wasn't he just acting like a man with a broken heart and a fracture ego? He was also a little aimless, and there were those many girlfriends that the society papers had reported of. She kind of had a soft spot for Matt because in many ways he reminded her of Daniel: A little lost but with a kind heart. Both he and Daniel just needed that certain someone to help them focus.

_Someone like Betty._

Claire felt powerless. She suddenly realized she needed to call Daniel. At least she could warn him that Matt was around. That would help a little wouldn't it?

"Hello Darling." Claire was relieved he was home.

"Hi Mom."

"How is everything? Settling into your new place alright?"

"Yep." Short answer; he wasn't very talkative.

"And your job is going well?"

"Yeah. I helped come up with a tag line for a full page spread for a new client." He proceeded to tell her that they had been working on the spread for days with no original ideas and then one day it just occurred to him the angle they should take. He had suggested it to his boss who was very receptive and so he was placed in the group to come up with the writing for the ad. There was that excitement in his voice again.

"How's Betty?" It wasn't an unusual question. Claire often asked about Betty when she spoke with Daniel.

"She's fine." He was aloof. But his tone had changed.

"I take it everything is going well with the two of you." Daniel could sense she was getting at something.

"What's up Mom?" he sighed a little too audibly.

"Nothing is "up" dear. I just thought I would call to find out how my son is. Is that a crime?"

"It's not a crime Mom. It's just…you seem to be fishing for something." He was a little overly sensitive today but he didn't mean to take it out on his mother.

"I'm sorry Daniel. I didn't mean to upset you. Actually I did call for a reason." He knew it. "I was reading the society pages and I read that Matt Hartley is back from Africa. Actually, the paper said he was in England…" Ahhh…she had heard. Now all her fishing was starting to make sense.

"Yeah. He called Betty yesterday. Actually they're out right now." He tried to sound nonchalant.

"Betty is out with Matt?" She was more than a little shocked. "And you're ok with that?"

"I'm not really ok with it but what choice do I have, Mom? She told me she wanted to see him – to find out about his adventures in Africa. It's not like I could stop her."

"No. You're right dear." She decided to fill him in on the details. "He's going to be in New York fundraising for the next year before he goes back again for another tour. It sounds like he has become quite the humanitarian."

"Not helping, mother."

"Sorry Daniel." She needed to say something to make him feel better. "His picture was in the paper. He seems to have lost quite a lot of weight – must be all that well digging. He's looking a little scrawny if you ask me." Daniel had to smile a little. Although he knew Betty would never be so superficial, his mother's attempt to cheer him up was sweet.


	15. Chapter 15

Betty sat waiting for Matt at the elegant table the maitre d' had directed her to. He was a little late for the reservation but Betty was glad. It had given her a moment to collect her thoughts before he arrived.

She was a little nervous about meeting up with Matt. She wasn't sure how she would feel seeing him face to face again. She hadn't seen him since the evening they had broken up; the night before his flight left.

Things had been so good between the two of them and then he had decided he needed to go to Africa. It had shattered her. Of course she had come to the realization that if she really loved him she needed to let him go – anything else would just have been selfish. She had moved on after he left – dating a few times. But no one special had come into her life after Matt…until Daniel. She felt a wave of guilt.

"Hey Betty!" Matt arrived, interrupting her thoughts. She stood up and gave him a hug. He was thinner than when she had seen him last but other than that he was still Matt.

"It's so good to see you!" She gave him the biggest smile.

"You look fantastic!" he said to her. And then he added "No braces!"

"Yeah. I finally got them off."

"Well. You look great. Although I always thought you looked great with them too." She blushed a little as they sat down.

He looked at her with a smile on his face. "So you're a big shot editor of your own magazine now. I knew Betty Suarez was going places – brains, looks, personality, talent – there's no telling how far you'll go." He was laying it on thick. Betty gave him a look.

"I'm trying too hard – right? I knew I was going to try to hard. I always try to hard."

"A little." Betty nodded with a smile. He was definitely the same old Matt.

They conversed comfortably about what Matt had been up to in Africa. She could see the fire in his eyes as he spoke. She was really happy for him. He definitely seemed to have found what he was looking for. He had actually finished his tour and was planning on doing another one after he had done some intense fund-raising back in New York. He told her all sorts of stories of the people he encountered. He shared how the experience had changed him forever. He told her how fulfilling it was to be doing something simple yet so significant for others rather than constantly worrying about what he wanted or needed, or what would make him feel good. He told her how he had returned to New York, only a month ago and had discovered he had a brother he had never known about before. How he had met Tyler and connected with him instantly.

And she shared with him. She shared everything that had been happening in her life; how her blog had really taken off – she'd even won an award. She conveyed how she had realized she was getting stuck in the fashion mold and needed to break out of it; how soon after that realization Lindsey Dunne had offered the position as Editor-in-Chief of this magazine here in London - a magazine that spoke to the issues that she had always wanted to speak to. She told him how strange she had felt leaving her family and friends to move across the ocean with no idea what to expect on the other side. She spoke of Hilda's wedding and Justin's "coming out". She caught him up with everything…everything that is except Daniel.

Apparently Matt had noticed too because as soon as there was a pause he redirected the conversation. "Sooo…" He exaggerated the word indicating a change in topic. "New boyfriend, huh? What's he like? Tell me all about him." He joked.

Betty cringed a little. She hadn't mentioned Daniel because it would be too…weird. She wasn't really sure what Matt wanted to hear or what she wanted to say.

"Daniel Meade, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised." He seemed sincere - not bitter or angry.

"What do you mean?" Betty wanted him to clarify.

"Well, the two of you were always so close. You were always so protective of each other and you would do anything for each other – like the time you rescued him from that cult; or the time he punched me out because I insinuated you were sleeping with him." He said the last part with a little chagrin. "You were like Butch and Sundance, the Lone Ranger and Tonto, Batman and…"

"I get it." Betty interrupted, smiling at him.

Matt continued "except for that underlying "vibe" thing between you…you know." He spoke as if she would know what he was talking about.

"What? There was never any "vibe"." Betty was astonished by his suggestion, and a little confused. She hadn't had those kinds of feelings for Daniel until well after Matt had left.

"Are you kidding? There was **so** totally a "vibe"." He laughed that she hadn't considered it before.

He suddenly got more serious. "So this thing with Daniel…it's the real deal?"

Betty inhaled and nodded, responding thoughtfully "Yeah…I really think it is."

And just like that she knew: Matt was a part of her past and he was going to stay there – she **wanted **him to stay there. A part of her would always wonder what might have happened had their paths not taken them in separate directions. But they had. And a large part of her was glad because she never would have discovered her feelings for Daniel if they hadn't. Daniel was her future and she loved him…she was in love with him. The realization made her light headed. Then the realization she might have blown it with him brought her back down to earth. Matt must have notice the expression on her face change.

"What's wrong Betty?"

"What? …Oh…I think I've done something really stupid."


	16. Chapter 16

It was raining heavily outside, the perfect compliment to Daniel's mood. He was sitting on the sofa watching a sappy BBC movie. He wasn't that interested in it, it's just that there was nothing else on and at least it was slightly distracting from the mess that was in his head these past couple of days.

When the phone rang he ignored it at first. Betty had been trying to call him for two days and he really didn't want to talk to her. He knew he was doing exactly what he'd promised not to – shutting her out – but he didn't care. He didn't want to talk to her about this…about Matt. He was afraid what she might say.

Whoever it was didn't leave a message.

He focused back on his movie. The phone started ringing again. Curiosity got the better of him and he looked at the display…not Betty. He picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Daniel? It's Amanda. I'm glad you finally picked up."

"Amanda? What's up?" Daniel thought it was strange for Amanda to be calling him.

"Tell me what's going on with you and my Betty-head." She went straight to the point. "Every time I talk to her she's all mopey and grouchy like someone stole her jelly doughnut."

"Nothing's going on." Daniel did not want to talk to Amanda about this.

"Don't lie to me Daniel. Betty told me you had a huge fight about Matt."

Daniel was slightly irritated. "Why would Betty share that with everyone?" Daniel said half to himself.

"She didn't share it with everyone, dork - just me. That little enchilada and I are pretty tight you know."

"So why are you calling Amanda?"

"I wanted to see if I can help. I can be fairly insightful sometimes. Besides…" her voice softened a little "what you two have is pretty special. I'd hate to see you throw it away because of something so stupid."

"It's not stupid." He argued. "I didn't want her to go out with Matt and she chose to go anyway." To him it was straightforward.

"So she went out with Matt. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? She has a huge history with him...she probably still has feelings for him."

"Of course she still has feelings for him…she used to love him. Someone like Betty doesn't just throw those feelings away. That doesn't mean she doesn't care about you."

Daniel didn't say anything. Amanda continued. "Look at it this way…do the feelings you still have for Molly mean you love Betty less?"

"It's not the same thing Amanda." Daniel wondered how she could even compare the two situations.

"Of course it's not the same thing…" she softened her voice again like she wanted to make sure what she said wouldn't be too painful. "I'm not trying to compare your situation with Molly to Betty and Matt's situation – they are completely different. I just want to say this: when Molly died…there was closure - you moved on because you had no choice. When Matt left for Africa he left a huge door open. She needed to see him, to close that door…you know? So she could move on…with you. The way I see it you have it easier than she does.

"What are you talking about?"

"When she chooses you over Matt…and believe me she will Daniel…'cause I don't think "choosing" is what this is all about for Betty. When that happens…you'll know that you're her first choice. She'll never get to be that lucky."

Daniel didn't say anything. He was too busy trying to process everything Amanda had just said. What did Amanda mean about Betty never getting to be that lucky? Surely Betty didn't feel like she was in Molly's shadow. Daniel certainly didn't feel that way. He had loved Molly passionately. It still hurt to think how cruel life had been to her…to them. But it didn't hurt to think about Molly herself anymore. He could picture her smile now without the stabbing pain in his chest. He knew that was a good sign – a sign he was moving on. He remembered a time when he thought he would never be able to move on; a time when he had to cling so desperately to the only two people in the world that would be able to save him from drowning in the quicksand he was mired in: His mom and Betty.

Betty had been his rock back then…she always was. It was one of the many things he loved about her. And he really did love her…like he'd never loved anyone. What he felt for Betty was the kind of love that made you give up everything just so you could be together…the kind of love that made you want to be a better person (he knew he still had work in that area.) He had followed her to London because he had realized he loved her. But during these past few months together he had realized something more…he wanted to spend his life with her; to raise a family with her; to grow old with her.

The idea that maybe she didn't feel the same way - that maybe she felt that way about Matt – sucked all the life from him.

Could there be any truth to Amanda's claim that Betty wanted to see Matt so she could move on? He desperately wanted to believe that, he just had so much doubt.

"Why didn't she tell me she just wanted to close the door with Matt?" Daniel finally asked.

"Maybe because you're being such a douche and won't talk to her."


	17. Chapter 17

Immediately after his conversation with Amanda, Daniel knew he needed to talk to Betty. She'd been trying to call him for two days now but he hadn't been answering. Should he call her now? No. He decided he really needed to see her face to face despite the torrential downpour that had started outside.

He was about to call a cab when the doorbell rang. Who on earth would be out in all that rain?

"Betty!" He was stunned when he opened the door.

She was drenched. Her hair was slick and flat to her head and her clothes were soaking. The water was literally dripping off of her.

Betty was not very impressed. "If you would answer your freaking phone I wouldn't have to come out in weather like this." Daniel noticed she sounded a lot like Hilda when she was angry. Betty sneezed. Then she walked past him not waiting for an invitation.

"We need to talk, Daniel."

"Yeah. I know."

She shivered and sneezed again. Daniel realized she was freezing and needed to change.

"Just wait here for a minute." He said. He went to his closet and pulled out some cozy clean sweat pants and a sweat shirt. They would be way too big but at least they were dry. He grabbed a towel from the linen closet and went back out.

"Here..." He said tossing her the clothes and towel. "You need to get out of those wet things first."

When she came back she was already feeling a little warmer…both physically and emotionally. He had let her in the house at least. He hadn't sent her back out in the rain or even called her a cab to take her home immediately. At least they were going to have a chance to talk.

Daniel had put the fire on and made her a cup of tea while she was changing. That was another good sign.

He was sitting on the end of the sofa. She sat across the room in the recliner – symbolic of the distance she felt between them. She held the mug of tea between her two palms, warming her hands, and she took a sip before she spoke.

"You broke our deal." She said in a tone that was half angry, half sad.

Daniel looked up at her with a puzzled expression on his face.

She clarified her statement. "You said you wouldn't shut me out, no matter how upset you were."

"Actually, the deal was I wouldn't shut out the **world**." Daniel looked at her sheepishly.

Her expression told him that she was not very impressed with his attempt at finding loop holes.

She continued speaking "If we're going to do this…" she gestured back and forth between them. "and make it work…then you can't go hiding away, skulking like a child because you're upset about something. We need to talk about it."

"I thought we did talk about it. You decided you were going to see Matt. I decided I didn't want to hang around waiting to be your second choice." He was starting to get angry again.

"Daniel…it's not…you're not…" How could she make him understand? "It was never about choosing between you and Matt."

"Wasn't it? Didn't you want to see him to figure out if you were still in love with him?"

Betty looked at him; he looked so young, so vulnerable, so hurt. She hated that he thought that.

"Not exactly. I needed to see him so I could put the past behind me. So I could sort out my feelings for you…no regrets."

He looked up and his eyes locked hers. "And so did you?...sort out your feelings." There was some hope in his voice.

She nodded and stood up, placing her mug on the coffee table. She walked over to the sofa and sat down beside him. She looked up into his eyes. Those eyes that could make her swoon and melt if he looked at her the right way…not the way he was looking right now, muddied with anger and confusion.

"I love you Daniel…I'm in love with you. I don't want to be with anyone else. I don't want to be anywhere but here…with you."

Daniel's heart softened. She had finally said it. He had waited so long to hear her say it. He'd begun to think - especially over the past few days - that maybe she never would.

He brushed her wet hair off of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He needed to say something. "Betty, I'm so sorry I got so angry. I just felt like I was loosing you and I couldn't do anything about it. I felt like I couldn't compete with Matt…you loved him so much and I didn't know how you felt about me…"

Betty interrupted him. "Daniel, I did love Matt…but that was a long time ago. So much has happened since then."

"I know. And I also know that the love we've felt for people in the past doesn't diminish the love we feel for each other now." Betty looked at him curiously.

"You're not talking about Matt anymore are you?"

"Betty…I don't want you to feel like you're living in Molly's shadow."

Betty was confused. Why would he think she did? "I don't." She said sincerely.

"You don't?"

"No. I know how much you loved Molly. Anyone could see that. And I know it hasn't been a huge amount of time since…" She didn't finish the sentence…like it would hurt him too much if she actually said it.

"…since she died." Daniel finished it for her.

"Yeah. But I know you, Daniel. And I know you wouldn't be here…with me…if you weren't sure you were ready to move on."

Daniel was astounded once again. Betty's sensitivity and her insight never ceased to amaze him.

"I **am** ready. I think we both need to put the past behind us. Not an easy task when we know each other the way we do"

"You're telling me." She agreed taking a big breath.

He understood the full meaning behind that. There were so many things he wished Betty didn't know about his past…but she did. He couldn't do anything about that. At least she knew he had changed – he took comfort in that.

Betty had something to add, her tone had changed. "But this thing you do…shutting me out when you're angry or upset. It has to stop. We'll never survive if it doesn't."

"I know. I'm sorry Betty."

She hadn't finished. "It won't be easy you know. We're going to argue once in a while and we're going to get angry and want to shut each other out…" She recognized her own tendency as well. "But if we love each other we'll have to fight that urge to just run and hide." Her tone was urgent, pleading "We need to promise this to each other…and keep it. I really want us to work, Daniel. I really love you."

Daniel was moved by her honesty. "I really want us to work too Betty…more than you can imagine."

He lifted her chin up to look into his eyes. "Betty…" He looked deeper, like he was looking into her soul. He needed her to know this - to feel this. "I've never loved anyone the way I love you."

That was the look...she absolutely melted. He bent down and kissed her. It was slow and soft but so full of meaning. She kissed him back with fervor placing her hands on the back of his neck. He pulled away quickly.

"What?" She asked. Something was obviously wrong.

"Your hands are freezing." He smiled down at her.

"It's not just my hands." She admitted. She'd been ignoring how cold she was while they were talking but now there was no denying it.

He got up and came back with a blanket. "Let's warm up for a few minutes." He suggested, snuggling under the blanket beside her and flicking on the television.

Betty looked at him like he had two heads.

"What?" He asked her. What on earth had he done now?

"Daniel...I just told you that I love you. I don't know if you think much of it, but in my world that's a pretty monumental realization."

"Ok..." He still didn't get it.

"I don't want to watch tv." She said taking the remote out of his hand and turning the tv off. She looked at him seductively. He was starting to get it.

"Oh…so what do you want to do then?" He feigned ignorance.

She pushed him back against the cushions and kissed him hard. Her boldness startled him at first but then filled him with excitement. He began to respond intensely. She placed her hand under his sweater and he jumped, pulling back quickly.

"Ok Betty…I'm not kidding…those are blocks of ice." He said seriously, referring to her hands.

"You are such a baby." She teased.

"Maybe we could make out and you could just keep your hands to yourself?" He suggested questioningly.

She laughed at him. "Like that would be any fun."

"So what do we do? I can't stand those ice burgs anywhere near vital pieces of equipment." He joked.

"I **am** kind of chilled." She admitted shivering again. "Even the tea didn't help. Maybe I could have a warm shower?" She suggested a little more seriously. The cold rain had soaked through everything and despite the tea, fire and blanket she still felt shivery. She didn't want to get sick.

"That's probably a good idea."

Betty let the warm water fall over top of her…it felt so good. She hadn't realized how cold she was until she had climbed into the hot shower. She heard a knock on the door and then it opened a crack.

"Betty…"

"Daniel!" She panicked…what was he doing?

"Relax Betty." Daniel chuckled. "I wasn't coming in." He paused for a second "unless…"

"What do you want Daniel?" She asked quickly.

Daniel smiled, amused by her bashfulness. "I just wanted to let you know there's a hairdryer underneath the sink."

"Ok. Thanks."

When she got out of the shower she put Daniel's sweats back on. Her own clothes were still soaking wet and she knew they wouldn't be dry for a while.

While she was drying her hair she pondered why she had been so jumpy when Daniel had opened the door. She loved him – she knew for certain now. And he definitely loved her. She needed to relax a little more.

Daniel was sitting on the sofa reading a book when Betty came out of the bathroom. He looked up and smiled when he heard her.

"Warmer?"

"Definitely." She curled up next to him. "What are you reading?"

"Oh…It's called Emotional Branding. It's just a book on branding and creating brand identities. It's about the emotional component that helps create a credible connection between products and consumers on both a personal and holistic level."

She raised her eyebrows.

"What?" He asked - she was looking at him funny.

"You're really sexy when you're smart." She said matter-of-factly.

"Sexy eh? You think I'm sexy?" He put the book down on the coffee table and turned toward her.

"Add some glasses and you might just be irresistible." She teased.

He grabbed hers off of her head and put them on the coffee table too.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"They just get in the way." He said pulling her close and kissing her hungrily. She kissed him back with the intensity she felt. They made out for several minutes. When they finally came up for some air Betty looked into his eyes and whispered shyly "I want to stay."

Daniel hadn't heard her properly; he was still slightly dazed from making out. "What?"

"I want to stay…tonight. Can I stay?" She asked nervously.

He heard her that time and sat up. "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured…"

She cut him off. "I'm sure. I love you Daniel and I want to spend the night with you." There was no ambiguity there. "Besides…"she added playfully "my clothes are soaking wet and there is no way I cou…"

Daniel kissed her, interrupting her quip. "Too much talking." He said.

When Daniel awoke in the early hours of the morning, he thought the whole thing had been a dream. Then he rolled over and saw Betty. He propped himself up on his elbow and watched her sleep for a second. It hadn't been a dream; here she was - and last night she had told him that she was in love with him. He had never felt this way about another human being in his life.

He lightly kissed her bare shoulder and snuggled back under the covers, placing his arm around her.

"Mmm…" she stirred, her eyes opening. "What time is it?"

"It's really early. Go back to sleep." Daniel whispered. He kissed the side of her neck. She rolled over to look at him and he propped himself up again. For a few moments they just looked at each other, not saying a word. Daniel was tracing her arm with his finger.

Betty spoke first, slightly shy. "That was…really nice." She said meaning it as a compliment.

"Nice?" Daniel feigned offense. "Not mind blowing, not fabulous?" He had a smirk on his face. "I guess I'm just going to have to try harder next time." Betty quivered excitedly at the idea of next time.

She had thought she would be self-conscious or insecure when she made love to Daniel the first time – after all, he was Daniel Meade. He'd once been New York's most notorious player; the Don Juan of the fashion world. She knew he wasn't that guy anymore but that didn't erase all his…experience. But she hadn't been insecure. She had just let herself escape into the moment – if Daniel wanted her, as imperfect and awkward as she was, then who was she to argue. The entire time he had made her feel beautiful and loved, and safe.

But now…in the first light of the morning with him lying beside her in his bed – his body so close, his touch so electric – she suddenly felt very shy.

She snuggled deeper under the covers.

"Are you cold?" Daniel misread her action.

"No, not really." She wasn't sure what to say.

Somehow Daniel sensed it without her saying anything. Or maybe he didn't, maybe he just spoke what he was feeling at the moment but in any case what he said next put her mind at ease.

"You are **so** beautiful." He whispered looking into her eyes.

"Daniel…" Betty started to protest.

"Why do you do that?" He could tell that she was about to disagree. "Why don't you know how beautiful you are?" He wasn't angry, just sincerely wondering.

Betty collected her thoughts before answering. "I guess I've never thought of myself as beautiful…you know? I mean…growing up I learned that I had some really great qualities but looks were never part of that. I guess I resigned myself to the fact that I was never going to be gorgeous so I might as well focus on the parts of myself that I did like and not worry about the rest."

"Well I like **all** your parts." Daniel said suggestively. Then he added more seriously "But I want you to know that you **are** beautiful. I also think you are bright…" he kissed her cheek. "you're witty…you're sweet…" he kissed her nose first and then her jaw line "and you are very, very sexy." He whispered the last part into her ear and a thrill went through Betty's entire body. Then he kissed her lips hungrily.

When he pulled back he could see she was pensive.

"What?" He asked her.

"Do you think we had a "vibe"?" She asked him.

Daniel looked confused "What do you mean?"

Betty tried to clarify her question. "Matt said that he wasn't surprised we were together because we always had this "vibe"."

Daniel reflected for a minute before answering thoughtfully. "I don't know. I don't really know when I started to fall in love with you - there wasn't an exact moment. I guess I've always known how amazing you are. And I've always admired your ability to persevere regardless of how life was trying to keep you down at some points. Your opinion has always been the one I've valued the most. And you have this ability to keep me afloat when all I feel like doing is giving up and sinking. Maybe Matt could sense that. Maybe that's the "vibe" he's talking about."

"Maybe." She was touched by Daniel's openness and satisfied by his answer.

She started to sit up. "What time **is** it anyway? " She asked as if she intended to get out of bed.

"Betty, it's only quarter to six. I know you have a ton of get up and go but I was hoping to stay in bed a little later than that on a Saturday morning."

"I know." She said apologetically. "But I'm not tired anymore."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" Daniel said suggestively, pulling her back into bed.

She giggled. "Well, I guess I should give you a chance to upgrade from "nice"." She teased.


	18. Three Years Later

Three years later

"You ladies look beautiful!" Claire Meade said with the tone of a proud mother as she eyed up the three bridesmaids in their gowns. Claire Meade had just arrived at the Suarez house and when she walked in Christina was fitting the ladies with their dresses and pinning them to make the final adjustments.

"Didn't Christina do a fabulous job on the dresses?" Betty asked.

"She certainly did." Claire replied.

"Oww!" Alexis hollered and looked down giving Christina a dirty look.

"Sorry." Christina looked up sheepishly. "But if you would stand still, ya big tree, you wouldn't wind up with a pin in your hind end."

"I hate weddings." Alexis complained. "They're just a stupid excuse to get drunk and tell sappy family stories."

"Alexis…please…" Claire begged. "This is your brother's wedding. Try to have a better attitude."

"Half brother." Alexis corrected her.

"I can't believe the big day is almost here!" Betty said excitedly.

"I can't believe it happened without a shotgun." Christina quipped.

"Christina!" Betty scolded shaking her head at her.

"Does it remind you of your own one, love?" Christina asked Betty. This was the first wedding Betty would be going to since she and Daniel had gotten married a year and a half early.

"Yeah…a little. There's lots of the same crowd around." Betty smiled

"Where is the bride anyway?" Claire asked.

"Amanda had to go to the florist to work out some last minute changes. Apparently her biological father is allergic to lilies. He'll swell up like a blow fish if he gets anywhere near them." Betty said.

"Speaking of "swelling up"…" Christina was working on Betty's dress now. "what in Sam hill is going on with you, Betty?" Betty's dress was pulling at the seams and Christina was going to have to do some serious stitching to fix the problem.

"I think I might have put on a little weight." Betty said sheepishly, obviously embarrassed.

"A little?" Christina continued. "If I didn't know better I'd swear you were hiding an entire other person in there with you." She joked. There was a brief pause and then everyone looked at Betty. Betty flushed.

Hilda screamed and then said "You aren't?"

Betty averted everyone's gaze.

"You are!" Hilda screamed again much more enthusiastically. "I'm going to be an aunt – a new little cousin for Justin and Marianna." Marianna was Hilda and Bobby's little girl. She had just turned two.

"Please don't tell Daniel you found out…he wanted to announce it together…you know." Betty was a little panicky. She hadn't expected the news to come out this way.

"We won't say a word, my dear." Claire walked over and gave Betty a warm hug. "But I couldn't be happier."

"Thanks." Betty said shyly.

"Yeah…well I could." Christina complained. "I'm certainly going to have my work cut out for me now. You couldn't have waited until after the wedding to go fishing without your rain slicker?

"Christina!" Betty laughed. But then she added more seriously. "I'm sorry. Do you think you'll have time to fix it?"

"I'll work my magic…no worries."

Later that evening Betty and Daniel were getting ready for bed. They were staying at the Suarez house. They often split their visit up between the Meade mansion in Manhattan and Ignacio's house in Queens.

Betty was standing looking out the window of her bedroom while Daniel slipped under the covers. He could tell something was on her mind by the look on her face.

"What's up, Betty?" He asked her.

"Hmm...?" She had been thinking and hadn't heard him.

"I asked if everything was ok."

"Yeah…I'm just thinking." She dropped the curtain and climbed into bed. She fluffed her pillow and then put her head on it. "I really miss New York."

"Really?" Daniel was surprised. Betty seemed to bloom in London. She loved her job and she was really good at it – the magazine was thriving. She was always so full of life and energy - with the exception of these past few months. The pregnancy had taken a lot out of her and she'd been pretty ill with morning sickness.

"Yeah. Well not the city so much but Papi and Hilda and Justin…everyone actually." She said wistfully.

"I kind of miss everyone too." Daniel said. He was really fond of Betty's family, of course there was also his mother…and over the past two years he and Tyler had actually started to connect - thanks in large part to Betty's coercion. Whenever Betty and Daniel had returned for a vacation she had insisted that Daniel contact Tyler and go out with him. It had been awkward at first but after a couple of times they discovered they actually enjoyed each other's company…as different as they were. Daniel thought it was great having a brother again – particularly without all the sibling rivalry to mess it up. Tyler was nothing like Alex - he was down to earth, easy going and completely unpretentious.

Betty rolled over onto her side and looked at Daniel. "Maybe we should move back. I mean…I really want to be close to family again…especially now." She put her hand on her stomach.

"Are you serious? What about our jobs? What about the magazine?"

"Daniel there's more to life than work and magazines." She smirked at him reminding him of his words to her. She added more seriously "I'm pretty sure you could get a good job in New York. You have experience in advertising now and you're really good at it."

"But what about the magazine?" Daniel was concerned for her. He knew how much she loved her job.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now…since…well since the baby…"

"I do love my job…but not everything about it. And what I've discovered since I've had this job is that the thing I really love to do is writing. Ironically I don't get much of a chance to do it with all the other stuff an Editor has to do. Maybe if we move back I can get some work doing some freelance writing. And when the baby comes I can do most of it from home." She had a twinkle in her eyes.

Daniel smiled at her. Then he had another idea. "Maybe you could start working on that book you always wanted to write too."

"A book doesn't pay the bills Daniel. At least not until it gets published."

Daniel gave her a strange look "You always forget I'm a Meade. I'm pretty sure we don't have to worry about the bills…and I might even know a guy who knows a guy in publishing." He grabbed her and pulled her close.

"So is it decided? Will we move back to New York?" She asked him.

"I'll follow you to Timbuktu Betty Suarez-Meade."

"Awww…." She tilted her head with a smile on her face. Then she added "That's so cheesy."

Daniel smacked her with the pillow.

"The baby, watch the baby!" She laughed.

After she composed herself she got a little more serious. "Is all this wedding stuff weird for you…you know…because of Matt?"

Matt was Tyler's best man and Daniel was one of the groomsmen. They'd been spending a fair amount of time together as the wedding got closer.

"Na…why would it be weird for me? I ended up the lucky one." He grinned at her. "It's ancient history now. Matt's actually a really nice guy when he's not trying to steal my girlfriend. I guess I figured if it wasn't too weird for you that I used to sleep with Amanda…"

Betty held up her hand as if to block the image and cringed. "Are you kidding me? It's totally gross I just live in denial."

"Besides…" Daniel changed the subject back. "Matt is engaged now anyway."

"Yeah. She's nice." Betty said sincerely.

"I guess…in an "organic" kind of way." Daniel said.

Betty gave him a look. Matt had met a young Canadian doctor who was working in Africa when he'd gone back for his second tour. Her name was Gennie – with a "G". She was cute and had the same corny sense of humour as Matt. She loved everything natural, recycled and earthy. She was very conscious of the impact all of her actions had on the environment around her and the earth as a whole. She saved the trees, the whales and the orphans in Uganda. She also didn't seem to care an iota about the Hartley billions. In fact, in her opinion, the only proper use for money was to help others – she was appalled by consumerism. Betty couldn't help but think that Victoria Hartley – Matt's mother – probably hated her in equal proportion to how much Matt loved her. Daniel's only opinion of her had been that she probably didn't shave her legs. But Betty admired her and thought she was sweet.

"Can we stop talking about your ex-boyfriend now?" Daniel asked.

"Why is it bugging you?" Betty teased.

"No I just have better things to do." He said as he started nibbling on her ear.

"Daniel! Papi's across the hall."

For Daniel this was just a game. Betty was always uncomfortable when Daniel started getting romantic with Papi in the next room. And Daniel never got tired of how adorable she was when she was flustered or mortified. He started kissing her neck.

"Daniel…seriously!" She whispered.

Daniel feigned frustration. "Ok. But you owe me. Speaking of that…I booked a room at the hotel for the night of the wedding."

"You did?" Betty was pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah. I thought it would be nice. Then we can stay and catch up with people as long as we want. You've been getting tired so early in the evening lately it would be a shame for you to have to cut the visits short just because we had to travel back here to Queens or even to Mom's place. And I think after a long day like the wedding day will be, you'll be extra tired."

Betty smiled at him. He was so thoughtful sometimes it amazed her.

Amanda and Tyler's wedding was slightly unconventional. Amanda's penchant for making a grand entrance could not be satisfied by the traditional act of father walking the bride down the aisle. She needed something flasher. She opted for being lowered down from the balcony on a platform decorated with lights while dramatic music played in the background. She would then be joined by both fathers - one on either side - and walked down the aisle to the front of the church. The priest nixed the fireworks – at least the ones Amanda had wanted indoors, the outdoor ones were still on. Of course this required a lot of logistical configuration and rehearsal. Betty was just grateful that Tyler was satisfied with keeping the horses outside to pull the carriage.

There was a slight mix from the traditional wedding party: Alexis stood on Tyler's side and Marc was Amanda's "maid" of honour. Bobby walked little Marianna down the aisle to make sure she actually got to the end - she was the flower girl.

It was weird to Betty that Hilda and Amanda were so close now. It had started because Amanda had missed Betty so much when she first left for London that she had started calling and hanging out with all of Betty's family – just to get her "Betty fix". She would pop in at Ignacio's house - he always had something delicious to comfort her with. She would text Justin to find out how school was and she always showed up at his performances. But Hilda had provided the most comfort. Maybe because she reminded Amanda of Betty the most or maybe it was just because they each filled the empty space Betty had left in the other one's life when she'd moved.

The wedding went very smoothly considering all the complications that could have arisen.

Betty and Daniel were dancing to a slow song during the reception and Betty was reflecting on what a great time she was having being with everyone again. Ignacio danced by with Elena. Betty smiled. Elena had moved back to New York a few months earlier and Betty wondered how long it would be before her father remarried - it was only a matter of time, she knew. Justin was holding little Marianna and dancing with her. He loved being a big brother. Claire was dancing with Tyler while Amanda danced with Marc. Christina and Stuart were talking up a storm with the bartender. Hilda and Bobby were dancing very affectionately – they were obviously still very much in love. Matt was sitting at the table with his arm around Gennie. D.J. was trying to pick up some of Amanda's cousins daughters – more than one of them. He very obviously had Meade genes.

Betty had been quietly observing all of this when Daniel spoke.

"You're quiet. Are you tired?" He was concerned. It had been quite a long day.

"Surprisingly…no." Betty smiled at him. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"It's neat how weddings bring people together. I've had such a great time tonight. I wish this could happen more often." She sighed.

"Maybe it will, when we move back." He said hopefully.

"Yeah." She smiled and sighed again. She snuggled in closer to him. Daniel looked so good in his tux. And he smelled really great too. "Do you think it's too early to leave?" She asked him.

"I thought you weren't tired." He looked at her, concerned again. "I thought you were having fun."

"I am…it's just…I'm hoping for a different kind of fun." She looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Ooooh…" Daniel understood. "Unfortunately it is a little early. Tyler's ninety year old grandmother still hasn't left yet. I think we have to wait just a little." He said reluctantly. He bent down and kissed her neck a few times and then whispered "But I'll make sure it's worth the wait."

Just then Marc and Amanda danced by. "Get a room you two." Marc said over his shoulder - commenting on their public display of affection.

"Already taken care of Marc." Daniel responded. He turned to Betty adding "Actually we have a suite."

"We do? A suite…really?" Betty was surprised.

"Yeah…with a fireplace and a huge king sized bed." Daniel smiled. "It has to be super romantic 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm picking up a bridesmaid tonight."

"You are? Which one?" Betty teased.

"The hot one." Daniel said kissing her earlobe.

An idea just occurred to Betty. "You know, I **am** pregnant. We could just tell everyone I'm exhausted and I need to get some sleep."

"Do you think they'd buy it?" Daniel asked hopefully. "Wait…but nobody knows yet. We haven't announced it."

Betty looked at him apologetically. "Actually…some of them do."

"You told?" He was obviously disappointed.

"Not on purpose. My dress didn't fit when Christina was pinning it the other day…everyone just sort of…guessed. I'm sorry." She really was.

Daniel understood. He smiled at her. "So who knows?"

"Alexis, Christina, your mom…"

"My mom?" He was surprised. "She didn't say a word."

"I asked her not to."

"Oh…I interrupted you…who else?"

"Oh…and Hilda."

Daniel smiled knowingly and said "So Bobby, Justin and your dad know then."

"Maybe not…I asked her not to say anything."

Daniel gave her a look.

"Ok…so probably." She laughed.

"Well…maybe this isn't such a bad thing." Daniel was trying to look on the bright side.

"How so?" Betty was curious.

"Well, for one thing, we won't steal Amanda and Tyler's thunder by making an announcement. And for another, our excuse will work now." Daniel said kissing her neck again.

"Seriously…people…please! Some of us just ate." Marc and Amanda were back in proximity.

"Is that even legal? I mean with the little one and everything." Amanda was serious and apparently she had heard they were expecting.

"What little…" Marc suddenly understood and his eyes got really wide. A funny look crossed his face. "Tell me you're not…**spawning**..." He looked frightened. "Mandy…" He whimpered her name like he needed her to rescue him.

"What's with him?" Betty asked Amanda.

"He's just really happy for you." She said as she danced away with him.

"Weird." Betty said to Daniel. Daniel just shook his head.

"Grandma's got a lot of stamina." Daniel commented on Tyler's grandmother again. "Maybe we could just go for a while and come back…" He suggested.

"Classy…Daniel…very classy." Betty chuckled at him. "Why don't we just disappear to the cloak room for a few minutes?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows.

"I was kidding!" She shook her head astonished. She pushed aside the thought that the cloakroom was probably not novel territory for Daniel…secretly she wondered if anyplace was.

The song ended and Betty decided she wanted to sit down – her feet were sore. They walked back to the table.

Betty's father and Elena were sitting there. Betty sat down beside her dad.

"My feet are killing me." She commented innocently, kicking off her shoes.

Her father immediately looked concerned. "You must be so tired, Myja."

Betty looked at him. "Hilda told you didn't she?"

"Told me what?" He tried to play dumb.

"Papi…you know what I'm talking about. She told you I'm expecting."

"You are? Congratulations!" He grabbed Daniel's hand and shook it hard. He was really trying to act like he was surprised but Betty could tell.

She shook her head but had a smile on her face. "Hilda is no good with secrets…"

"Unless it's her own pregnancy." Ignacio replied.

"Daniel, let's dance." Elena grabbed Daniel by the arm and pulled him out to the dance floor. She knew the two at the table could use a nice father/daughter moment right about now.

"I'm very happy for you Mija. You and Daniel are doing so well and seem to be so happy."

"We are Papi." Betty smiled.

"Your mother would be so proud of you. You're a big shot in London and happily married. And now there's a baby on the way." He was wistful…wishing his wife could have been here to see it all.

"I know." Betty started to choke up. She didn't want to be sad…this was a time for celebration. She knew what she was going to say next would make him very happy. "Can you keep a secret? Like for real…not like Hilda?"

"Of course Mija."

"Daniel and I are going to move back to New York."

Ignacio's face lit up like the chandelier hanging in his dining room.

"But what about your jobs; your home?" He asked.

"We still have to figure everything out…that's why you can't say anything yet…to anyone…please."

"Your secret is safe with me." He gave her a big hug.

Daniel and Elena ended their dance. He looked over and saw his mother making small talk with Amanda's mom. This was a good opportunity to tell her "officially" about the baby – even though she already knew. Knowing how good his mother was with secrets he knew she wouldn't say a word to him unless he brought it up first.

"Can we talk Mom?" He interrupted his mother's chit chat.

"Sure, darling." She turned to Amanda's mother "Excuse us, please."

They sat down at a quiet table.

"So…what's new, Mom?" He started.

"Nothing...what's new with you, dear?" Claire asked in return.

"Well actually…" Daniel was about to say something and then he stopped. His mother was trying unsuccessfully to stifle her smile. "What's with the smile?"

"I'm just really happy…it's a very happy day when a mother sees one of her children getting married." She bluffed.

"Oh…is that all? You kind of look like you had a secret you wanted to share."

"I don't have any more secrets, my darling." She said adamantly. "But I can't say the same for everyone in the room tonight."

"All right…I know you already know, Mom. Betty told me."

"Of course she did." Claire wasn't surprised. Betty wouldn't keep anything from Daniel. "I'm very happy for you dear." She gave him a hug.

"Thanks." He paused for a minute before adding "I can't believe it…I'm going to be a father."

"I can't believe it either. You know there was a time when I wondered if this would ever be your path…"

"What…if I would ever be a father?"

She scoffed lightheartedly, "No darling…**that **I worried about a little too often." She added more seriously "I wondered if you would ever settle down…if you would ever meet someone that made you happy...if you would ever have a family."

"Well, Betty really does make me happy." He smiled thinking about it.

"I can tell."

Back at Betty's table Bobby and Hilda were carefully trying to put Marianna's coat on. She'd fallen asleep on Bobby's shoulder during the previous dance and now they were getting ready to go home.

"I'm sorry you guys have to leave so soon." Betty said.

"That's life with a little one, Chipmunk…you'll know about it soon enough." Bobby said. Hilda pinched him. "Owww. What? What did I say?"

Betty laughed. "Come on Hilda…you didn't seriously think I would believe you hadn't told everyone."

"I'm sorry Betty. I was just so happy for you I couldn't keep it to myself."

"I know." Betty gave Hilda a hug. "It's ok, honest."

Daniel came back to the table. "Hey where's everybody going?" He asked.

"Marianna fell asleep. Hilda and Bobby are going home." Betty filled him in.

"Hey…Congratulations…man. I hear your life is about to change pretty drastically soon." Bobby gave Daniel a big one armed hug while holding Marianna with the other one.

"Me too…" Hilda pushed her way in to hug Daniel. "Congratulations." She pulled back and said sternly "You take care of Betty. Don't let her push herself as much as she normally does. And don't stay out too late tonight. She looks tired."

Betty just rolled her eyes at Hilda's mothering.

Daniel looked at Betty and smiled – he knew an opportunity when it was handed to him. "No… you're right Hilda…she does look tired…really, really tired. I think we're going to go soon too."

Hilda and Bobby said good night to everyone and left.

Daniel turned to Betty and said "Tyler's grandmother seems to have retired for the evening. And you heard your sister...you need your rest." He grinned at her.

"Really?" Betty was coy.

"Yeah…so…I think we could safely make an escape now."

"It is kind of traditional to wait for the bride and groom to leave first."

Daniel looked at her closely. He couldn't tell if she was kidding or not. He looked at the dance floor and saw Amanda and Tyler dancing with the energy of teenagers to a fast song.

He whimpered a little. "You're killing me Betty."

"Abstinence can't actually "kill" you…you know." She was teasing him now.

"Ok…can we go back to the part of the evening where you wanted to jump me?"

She laughed at him. Then she whispered softly into his ear "You know I always want to jump you…right? I'm just better at hiding it than you are."

That was all the encouragement he needed. "Grab your purse and say good night to everyone Betty."

Up in the suite Daniel turned on the fireplace while Betty looked around. The room was beautiful. There was a huge picture window with a beautiful view of the East River. There was a fireplace in the corner opposite a cozy sofa but still within view of the huge king size bed.

"Wow. It sure is nice being a Meade sometimes." Betty reflected out loud.

"I kind of hoped you thought it was nice being a Meade all of the time." Daniel joked.

Betty tilted her head and said "You know what I mean… this room…it's amazing."

"Not nearly as amazing as you are." He said kissing her shoulder.

"Do you think the baby will be spoiled?" Betty asked thoughtfully.

Daniel looked at her. He knew where this was coming from…and where it was going.

"Well by my mom, for sure." He laughed.

Betty smiled an anxious smile. That wasn't exactly what she meant and he knew it.

"I know what you're thinking." Daniel said. "It wasn't strictly the money that made me the entitled, aimless, playboy that I was Betty."

"Daniel…I…" Betty didn't want him to be offended.

"Let's be honest…that's what you're worried about. You don't want the little Meade in there" he pointed to her stomach "to turn out like I was." He wasn't offended, just realistic.

"Maybe not like you **were**…but if he turns out like you are now, I would be very proud." She put her arms around him. He took her hand and they sat on the edge of the bed.

"Listen Betty…I love my family but we were pretty messed up. You know…" He didn't have to tell her.

Betty nodded and Daniel continued. "Our little one will have it a lot better. First of all…his parents love each other very much. Second of all…we aren't even half as messed up as my parents." Betty smiled. "And third of all…you didn't come into my life and straighten me out until I was an adult…this little guy has you right from the very start."

Perhaps it was the hormones or the fact that it had been a long day, or maybe Betty was just really moved by what Daniel said – whatever the reason, she started to cry.

Daniel was horrified…he thought he'd said something wrong.

"Betty…what did I say?"

"That's so sweet." She squeaked out a whisper. Daniel grinned at her. He wiped the tears off of her cheeks with his thumb and kissed her forehead. Then he gave her a big hug. He breathed in the scent of her hair and perfume. It brought him back to the reason they'd left the reception so early in the first place. He sat back a bit to look at her face and he kissed her cheek softly…then her lips.

"I hope he…"

"…or she" Daniel interrupted. He kissed her temple and then brushed her hair back and kissed her neck.

"…or she…" Betty continued - her train of thought unhindered by Daniel's advances "has your eyes. Boy, you could cut glass with those babies."

"I hope she's as smart as you are." Daniel said kissing the side of her neck again and then her shoulder.

Betty gasped - a realization striking her "I hope he or she doesn't get my teeth." Betty cringed. She was still obviously deep in thought about this despite Daniel's attempts to distract her. "At least we can get the braces early." She consoled herself.

Daniel sighed softly and leaned back on his elbows on the bed. "So we're going to do this talking thing then?"

Betty looked at him, finally realizing the situation in front of her. He was looking pretty steamy in a tux leaning back looking at her with that grin and a twinkle in his eyes.

He continued. "'cause if we're doing this talking thing…I'm just saying…we might as well have stayed downstairs at the rec…"

Betty cut him off. "Daniel…"

"Hmmm?" he looked up at her. She yanked his arms out from under him and he flopped back onto the bed. Then she lay down beside him and whispered into his ear seductively "too much talking."

THE END


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